(plastemart) -- Mitsubishi Chemical Corp said at the end of last week that it was not certain when its No.2 naphtha cracker with capacity of 489,000 tonnes of ethylene per year in Kashima would resume operations following the unit's shutdown last week after a power outage, but traders say it could be as much as two weeks, as per Reuters.
The market expects the cracker to resume operations in about two weeks. Additionally, Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp has cut operational rates at its 2.93 mln tpa cracking complex in Mailiao to 80% following a fire at a MEG plant run by its sister company, Nan Ya Plastics, as MRC reported earlier, forcing the company to defer 60,000 tonnes of naphtha to November from October.
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) operates the basic and petrochemicals businesses of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation. Among the products the company makes are polyolefins like polyethylene and polypropylene, polycarbonate, and purified terephthalic acid (PTA). Mitsubishi Chemical operates manufacturing and R&D facilities throughout Japan and also maintains a presence in Asia, Europe, and the US. MCC is one of three units that comprise Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings; the other two are Mitsubishi Plastics and pharmaceuticals maker Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma.
MRC