LyondellBasell extends US BD allocation into November

27 October 2010 20:33  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--LyondellBasell will keep US butadiene (BD) on allocation in November as a result of a delay in the restart of its Channelview cracker in Texas, the company told its customers on Wednesday.

The cracker, which was taken off line in early October, resumed operations last week. The company did not say when it had originally expected to restart the cracker.

The shutdown also included maintenance at a 390,000 tonne/year BD extraction unit LyondellBasell has at the same site.

The company declared force majeure (FM) on BD on 18 May, following mechanical problems at the extraction unit in Channelview.

LyondellBasell set the BD restriction in November at 90% based on contract minimums. The allocation for October was set at 85%.

A company spokesperson declined to comment, citing policy.

LyondellBasell has two crackers in Channelview, each with 873,000 tonnes/year of capacity.

BD prices in October were 86.00 cents/lb ($1,895.96/tonne, €1,365 tonne).

Two US producers nominated 2-cent/lb price decreases for November.

The other two major producers have yet to make nominations.

($1 = €0.72)

For more on butadiene, visit ICIS chemical intelligence
For more on LyondellBasell’s plants, visit ICIS plants and projects
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By: William Lemos
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