DATE : 2014-08-06

 

China’s CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Co (CSPC) plans to halve the operating rate of its propylene oxide (PO)/styrene monomer (SM) plant at Huizhou in Guangdong province to conduct a catalyst change, a company source said on Wednesday.

CSPC will reduce the run rate to half its capacity around 8-10 August, but the plant is running at full tilt for now, the source added. The plant can produce 320,000 tonnes/year of PO and 700,000 tonnes/year of SM.

The plant is expected to run at the lower rate for eight days, industry sources said, but this could not be confirmed with the company.

While the delivery of SM cargoes would be delayed, any impact on the spot market would depend on the actual timeframe of CSPC’s reduced production because demand is currently weak, one major distributor said.

CSPC is a 50:50 joint venture between state-owned China National Offshore Oil (CNOOC) and Anglo-Dutch major Shell.

SOURCE Icis News