Saudi’s IAC to restart Jubail acetic acid plant within this week

26 April 2012 08:58  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Saudi Arabia’s International Acetyl Company (IAC) plans to restart operations at its 460,000 tonne/year acetic acid plant in Jubail Industrial City within this week after completing routine maintenance, a source close to the company said on Thursday.

The plant was shut in early April, the source said.

The source could not provide an exact date on the restart and company officials could not be reached for comment.

IAC will have acetic acid cargoes for sale after May, if resumption of operations at the plant goes smoothly, allowing it to rebuild stocks, the source said.

Once normal operation is achieved at the plant, possibly around mid-May, the source said it would allow a downstream 330,000 tonne/year vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) at the site to run at 120% from the current 80%.

The VAM plant is operated by International Vinyl Acetate Company (IVC).

IAC and IVC are limited liability companies that are 76%-owned by Sipchem. Ikarus Petroleum Industries Company has an 11% stake in the two companies, while Helm Arabia holds 10%, and the remaining 3% is with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Endowments.

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 Yingdu Gasification Co Ltd; Taiwan’s Chang Chun Petrochemicals; India’s GNFC, and; Iran's Fanavaran Petrochemical Co.

By: Helen Lee
+65 6780 4359

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