DATE : 2017-08-30
ASF declared force majeure on its acrylic monomers and its oxo-alcohols at its Freeport, Texas, plant, stemming from Hurricane Harvey’s landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast, the acrylic acid and acrylates esters producer said on Tuesday.
The storm restricted BASF’s ability to process material at the Freeport plant site, prompting the measures, effective 29 August, the company said in a customer letter.
The measures include glacial acrylic acid (GAA), butyl acrylate (butyl-A), ethyl acrylate (ethyl-A), methyl acrylate (methyl-A), 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2-EHA), n-butanol (NBA), iso-butanol (IBA) and 2-ethylhexanol (2-EH).
The measures could exert upward pressure on prices. Earlier, these were expected to be steady again in September after settling flat for August.
Previously, American Acryl shut down its acrylic acid plant in Bayport, Texas, because of Hurricane Harvey.
With August’s moderate propylene-contract increase, feedstock pressure was not expected to play much of a role in September acrylates or oxo-alcohols price direction, but supply constraints will, despite waning seasonal buying interest, sources said.
Another oxo-alcohols producer was already considering some volume constraints on upstream n-butanol (NBA), given what it described as heightened interest in US NBA exports due to tight supply in Asia.
Acrylates are commonly used to make products including paint and coatings, plastics and construction and pressure-sensitive adhesives.
Acrylates suppliers in the US include Arkema, BASF, Dow Chemical and Sasol.
N-butanol (NBA) is used as a solvent and to produce butyl acrylates for the coatings and adhesives industries. Smaller-volume uses are in acetate and glycol ether formulations.
Among the major uses for 2-EH are as a feedstock for chemicals used in the production of paint, automobiles, adhesives and plasticizers, and in building and construction markets.
US oxo-alcohols producers include BASF, Dow Chemical, Eastman and Oxea.
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