China’s Sinopec ZRCC to shut aromatics unit for 45 days in August

20 May 2011 05:38  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s Sinopec Zhenhai Refinery & Chemical Company (ZRCC) will shut its aromatics unit at Zhenhai in August for maintenance, a company official said on Friday.

The unit, which can produce up to 650,000 tonnes/year of PX, will be shut for 45 days.

Sinopec will shut Jinling Petrochemical’s 600,000 tonne/year paraxylene (PX) unit in the middle of June for two weeks of maintenance, he added.

“We are experiencing a shortage in supply of PX for July and August because of the multiple shutdowns,”” the official said.

Sinopec purchased 5,000 tonnes of PX for delivery in the second half of June at $1,526/tonne (€1,068/tonne) CFR (cost & freight) CMP (China Main Port) on 19 May.

The company purchased another 5,000 tonnes of material for delivery in July at around $1,530/tonne CFR CMP on 19 May, according to data from ICIS.

“We still need to buy additional spot cargoes for July,” the source added, but declined to mention the volume of PX that the company intends to purchase.

Sinopec is China’s largest producer of PX. It operates 11 facilities in the country which can produce a total of nearly 4m tonnes/year of PX.

The Chinese major has long-term supply contracts with most purified terephthalic acid (PTA) makers in China, including Yisheng Petrochemicals, Xianglu Petrochemicals and Zhejiang Yuandong Petrochemicals.

($1 = €0.70)

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By: Bohan Loh
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