MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical PCL , Thailand's largest petrochemical maker, has shut down for maintenance its olefins plant I-4/1 for 21 days from March 29, ahead of schedule, said Reuters.
The shutdown, earlier planned for August, which involves cleaning up quench oil tower, will allow the plant to boost its efficiency faster and suit with the market situation, the company said.
The shutdown has also led to PTT Global's by-product value-added unit, which uses feedstock from the olefins plant, to be closed during the same period. The shutdowns will not have significant impact on the company's performance, it said.
The olefins plant has annual production capacity of 515,000 tonnes of ethylene and 310,000 tonnes of propylene while the by-product unit has an annual capacity of 75,000 tonnes of butadiene and 25,000 tonnes of butene.
PTT Global had earlier planned shutdown of the olefins plant I-4/1 for 21 days during Aug. 20-Sep. 9. It also plans to shut down another olefins plant I-4/2 for 35 days during June 27-July 31.
As MRC informed earlier, PTT Global Chemical PCL is studying several options for supplying sufficient raw material to its petrochemical plants, including imports of oil feedstocks after declines in global crude prices. The move is part of a plan to cope with a potential drop in domestic natural gas supply after Thailand's government put bidding for new oil and gas concessions on hold.
PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
mecplast.com