US DuPont shuts down Texas cracker, cites lightning

16 July 2011 17:04  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--DuPont shut down its Orange cracker in Texas on Friday, following a lightning strike, the company said in a public filing.

The US company has 680,000 tonnes/year of ethylene capacity at the site.

A DuPont spokesperson could not be immediately contacted for comment.

News of the shutdown came as ethylene prices surged on Friday.

Ethylene for July traded as high as to 59.50 cents/lb, erasing losses from the previous sessions and leaving the monomer with an average gain of 1% for the week.

By: William Lemos
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