Japan's Mitsui cuts op rate at Chiba cracker, polymer units running

14 March 2011 04:09  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Japanese producer Mitsui Chemicals has cut the operating rate at its 617,000 tonne/year naphtha cracker in Chiba after a 9-magnitude quake struck Japan’s northeast coast last week, a company source said on Monday.

The source, however, declined to comment on the exact production levels at the facility.

Mitsui also runs another 450,000 tonne/year naphtha cracker in Osaka, which was operating at close to full rates this month, he added.

Separately, another company source said all the polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) facilities at Chiba operated by Mitsui Chemicals' 65-percent owned subsidiary, Prime Polymer, were running normally despite the earthquake.

The facilities include five PP lines with a combined capacity of 618,000 tonnes/year, and a 210,000 tonne/year linear low density PE plant, the source said.

Additional reporting by Chow Bee Lin

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By: Peh Soo Hwee
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