MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thai petrochemicals producer Rayong Olefins plans to shut its naphtha cracker at Map Ta Phut in December for two weeks, reported The Petrochemical Standard with reference to a company source.
Problems at the cracker have prompted operating rates to be lowered to 95% from 100% over the past week, the source added.
The cracker which is able to produce 400,000 mt/year of propylene and 800,000 mt/year of ethylene.
It supplies feed stock to Thai Polyethylene which has the production capacity of 980,000 mt/year of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), 100,000 mt/year of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and 110,000 mt/year of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE).
"We will shut our derivative units as well," the source added.
As MRC wrote before, in August 2014, The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued three final GHG Prevention of Significant Deterioration construction permits for the Formosa Plastics facility in Point Comfort, Texas, US. Formosa, another major petrochemical producer, is expanding its chemical complex, located near Victoria, and taking three actions with its turbines unit, olefins unit and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) unit.
Rayong Olefins Company Limited produces ethylene, propylene, mixed C-4, benzene, and tulene which are supplied to downstream manufacturers of polyethylene and polypropylene.
MRC