IAC Saudi acetic acid plant to shut for maintenance April

13 January 2012 02:42  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Saudi Arabia’s International Acetyl Company (IAC) plans to shut its 460,000 tonne/year acetic acid plant in Jubail Industrial City for routine maintenance lasting three to four weeks in April, a company source said late on Thursday.

“The shutdown will take place in April or within the second quarter,” he said.

Both IAC, as well as the adjoining International Vinyl Acetate Company (IVC) vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plant which has an annual nameplate capacity of 330,000 tonnes, are currently operating at full capacity, he said.

The IVC VAM plant is not due for any turnarounds this year, he added.

IAC and IVC are joint ventures between Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) and Helm.

Half of the output from the acetic acid plant is utilised in the production of VAM. The remaining acetic acid is sold on local and international markets.

Major acetic acid producers in Asia include US-based Celanese, UK’s BP, China’s Jiangsu Sopo, Shanghai Wujing, Yankuang Cathay Coal Chemicals, Henan ShunDa Chemical and Hebei Chung Shun Chemical, Taiwan’s Chang Chun Petrochemicals and CPDC, India’s GNFC and Iran’s Fanavaran Petrochemical.

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By: Helen Lee
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