APIC ’12: Thailand's 2012 ethylene consumption to grow 14%

17 May 2012 13:20  [Source: ICIS news]

KUALA LUMPUR (ICIS)--Thailand's ethylene consumption is expected to grow to 4.46m tonnes in 2012, from 3.9m tonnes in 2011, as new downstream units come online this year, the Petrochemical Industry Club of the Federation of Thai Industries said on Thursday.

Ethylene consumption is expected to surge following the start-up of Thai Plastic and Chemicals PLC’s (TPC) new vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant and the expansion of TOC Glycol’s monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant, it said in a report distributed at the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Meanwhile, the country's overall production of ethylene is expected to grow to 4.43m tonnes in 2012, from 3.67m tonnes [in 2011], it added.

The country's ethylene production rose by 27% year on year in 2011 as several new crackers, including the 1m tonne/year ethane cracker at PTT Polyethylene (PTTPE), a subsidiary of PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC), and a 900,000 tonne/year naphtha cracker at Map Ta Phut Olefins (MOC), the Petrochemical Industry Club said.

The crackers have raised operating rates close to full capacity to meet recovering demand from the petrochemical end-market, it added.

The APIC runs from 17-18 May.

By: Nurluqman Suratman

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