DATE : 2014-04-22

 

South Korea’s SK Global Chemical (SKGC) restarted its 350,000 tonne/year styrene monomer (SM) facility in Ulsan over the weekend, market sources said on Tuesday.

“Raw material was fed into the plant on 19 April,” said a South Korean trader.

The facility, previously owned by BASF, was idled in 2008.

“The company hopes to achieve on-spec material today [22 April],” a source close to the company said.

The facility had been retrofitted by SKGC prior to the restart. 

Others speculated that the company might need some time to achieve on-spec material.

“It could take some time, perhaps into May, for the plant to achieve on-spec SM,” said a South Korean broker.

Other South Korea SM producers include Samsung Total Chemical, LG Chem and Lotte Chemical.

SOURCE Icis News