Shell Chemicals declares force majeure on UK ethylene supply

LONDON (ICIS)–Shell Chemicals Europe has declared force majeure on ethylene supply from the UK, a company spokesman said on Thursday.

In an email, the spokesman said that this had been the consequence of a 12 October force majeure declaration on ethylene supply from the ExxonMobil Fife ethylene cracker in Mossmorran, Scotland.

He added “We regret any inconvenience caused.”

The Fife ethylene cracker has the capacity to produce 830,000 tonnes/year of ethylene, according to ICIS data.

The status of the cracker is not known but there had been talk in the ethylene market of production problems following planned maintenance.

In related news, a buyer of ethylene oxide (EO) said that Shell had declared force majeure on the product, but added that it expected supplies to be restored by 21 October. The buyer said that its deliveries from Shell had not been affected.

The Shell spokesman declined to comment on the status of the company’s EO production.

Shell produces EO at its site at Moerdijk in the Netherlands. The facility has a nameplate EO equivalent (EOE) capacity of 305,000 tonnes/year, and 155,000 tonnes/year of ethylene glycol production.

($1 = €0.76)

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Sam Weatherlake contributed to this article