MOSCOW (MRC) -- Williams Olefins has extended its October ethylene force majeure allocation at its Geismar, Louisiana plant, keeping its sales allocation for November at 0%, as per Plastemart.
"As of today, we continue to estimate the earliest date of ethylene production will be before the end of November," the letter stated. "For ethylene planning purposes, we will stay with our original allocation of 0 (zero) volume in November released in the October 15th Force Majeure letter," the letter added.
A trading source said that expectations for ethylene supply out of the plant is "at best after mid-December. When Geismar returns, the company is expected to boost its ethylene production capacity by 600 mln lb/year to a total capacity of 1.95 bln lb/year (885,000 mt/year).
As MRC wrote before, Williams Partners L.P. has announced it expects its expanded Geismar Olefins plant to begin manufacturing ethylene for sale in November. That timeline is consistent with the financial guidance the partnership provided in July.
Williams, headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., is one of the leading energy infrastructure companies in North America. It owns controlling interests in both Williams Partners L.P. and Access Midstream Partners, L.P. through its ownership of 100% of the general partner of each partnership. Additionally, Williams owns approximately 66% and 50% of the limited partner units of Williams Partners L.P. and Access Midstream Partners, L.P., respectively. On June 15, 2014 Williams proposed the merger of Williams Partners and Access Midstream Partners. The proposed merger has been approved by boards of each partnership and is expected to close in early 2015.
MRC