Saudi Arabia's PetroRabigh to shut PO unit at end of April

03 March 2011 03:09  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical (PetroRabigh) plans to shut its 200,000 tonne/year propylene oxide (PO) facility at Rabigh, Saudi Arabia, for maintenance at the end of April, sources close to the company said on Thursday.

The turnaround would likely last for a month, one of the sources said, and was to take place at the same time as the shutdown of PetroRabigh’s upstream refinery.

PetroRabigh officials were not available for comment.

“We heard that [Petro]Rabigh will have enough inventories to cater to us during the turnaround, so we are not worried for the supply,” a polyols maker based in eastern China said.

Another trader said that the turnaround was “no good news to the existing tight market”.

An integrated PO and polyols producer agreed, saying: “There are already several turnaround schedules set [for] this year. We would definitely see further tightness in availability.”

PetroRabigh is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical.

For more on propylene oxide, visit ICIS chemical intelligence

By: Ong Sheau Ling
+65 6780 4359

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