Sinopec, SABIC shuts Tianjin JV cracker on mechanical woes

13 September 2010 09:52  [Source: ICIS news]

SHANGHAI (ICIS)--Petrochemical giants Sinopec and SABIC have shut their 1m tonne/year naphtha cracker in Tianjin, China, on 12 September due to mechanical problems, a source close to the company said on Monday.

“The plant is now undergoing a damage assessment process,” the source said.

The shutdown at the cracker was expected to last about a week and would have no major impact on regular contract supplies due to sufficient inventories, he said.

Downstream units, including a 40,000/360,000 tonne/year ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol (EO/EG) unit and a 300,000 tonne/year linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant, were also shut due to “pressure” issues at the cracker facility, the source said.

A 300,000 tonne/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) facility and a 450,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) plant have also been shut, he added.

Production at the ethylene complex in Tianjin - a joint-venture (JV) project between SABIC and Sinopec - has been stable since its start-up in May this year.

The two companies formed SINOPEC SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co in 2008 as a 50-50 JV to build and operate the new facility.

To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect

By: Becky Zhang
+65 6780 4359

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly