US Pinnacle Polymers declares force majeure on PP

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US polypropylene (PP) producer Pinnacle Polymers declared force majeure on PP this week, after an inability to get enough feedstock propylene to run its plant, sources said on Thursday.

The company notified customers in a 30 June letter that it had received a declaration of force majeure from its main feedstock supplier, based on a significant and unanticipated mechanical issue.

Sources said they expect the plant to be back up and running sometime next week, but said supply will be very limited.

The outage is contributing to an already tight PP market, with other outages including one at Formosa Plastics’s Point Comfort, Texas PP unit, as well as very strong demand, sources said.

Pinnacle Polymers has a 470,000 tonne/year PP unit in Garyville, Louisiana, according to ICIS plants and projects.