BASF declares force majeure on Europe high impact polystyrene

22 September 2010 16:32  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--BASF has declared force majeure on European high impact polystyrene (HIPS) due to unforeseen technical issues at its facility in Antwerp, Belgium, a company source said on Wednesday.

BASF's HIPS production site at Antwerp is its only one in Europe. Styrenics production was brought down for planned maintenance on 16 August and the site resumed output during the course of last week, explained the source.

“HIPS suffered unforeseeable problems and the unit is now down. We are not producing a single kilo of HIPS in Europe at the moment,” said the source, declining to comment on the capacity.

“We are doing everything we can to get production back up,” he added.

General purpose PS (GPPS) was running normally, and a letter sent to BASF’s customers this week suggested that HIPS production would resume within 10 days.

PS prices had increased by around €50/tonne ($66/tonne) in September, with GPPS prices trading at €1,260-1,290/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe). HIPS had a premium of around €70/tonne over GPPS.

PS is used extensively in the packaging sector, with HIPS used in the manufatucre of domestic appliances, toys and household goods.

PS producers in Europe include BASF, Styron, Total Petrochemicals, INEOS NOVA and Polimeri Europa.

($1 = €0.75)

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By: Linda Naylor
+44 20 8652 3214

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