China's NZLC ramps up Ningbo PO/SM plant after restart

18 November 2010 09:21  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China's Ningbo ZRCC Lyondell Chemical Co (NZLC) restarted its propylene oxide/styrene monomer (PO/SM) plant in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, late on Tuesday and is currently ramping up operations at the unit, a source close to the company said on Thursday.

The plant has a nameplate capacity of 285,000 tonnes/year of PO and can produce up to 620,000 tonnes/year of SM.

"The process of ramping up is slower than expected [but] not due to any serious problem," said the source, adding it may take couple of days to run the PO/SM unit at high operating rates.

NZLC currently has low PO stocks as it had continued supplying to customers when the plant was shut in the past week, he said.

Similarly, the company had also been running low on SM inventory for term supply to end-users.

NZLC, a major PO/SM seller in eastern China, is a joint venture between LyondellBasell and Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co (ZRCC), a subsidiary of China's petrochemical giant Sinopec.

Additional reporting by Keny Jin

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