MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea's Lotte Chemical has shut its No. 3 monoethylene glycol (MEG) production unit in Yeosu, an industry source told TPS Monday.
The unit, which produces 160,000 mt of MEG a year, was shut due to its low production volume and weak margins, the source told TPS. The unit is expected to remain offline for a month.
"They have to buy C2 to make MEG, but the margin of MEG has been very bad," the source said.
Lotte Chemicals, South Korea's largest MEG producer, operates five MEG production facilities in the country; three in Yeosu and two in Daesan. Daesan No. 1 has an annual operating capacity of 250,000 mt/year, while Daesan No. 2, which was originally scheduled to restart on Nov 6, produces 400,000 mt of MEG a year.
As MRC informed previously, Lotte Chemical, a subsidiary of the South Korean Lotte Group, shut its low density polyethylene/ethyl vinyl acetate (LDPE/EVA) swing plant for a maintenance turnaround on October 12, 2015. It remained off-stream for around one month. Located at Daesan in South Korea, the plant has a production capacity of 135,000 mt/year.
Lotte Chemical Corporation manufactures a wide range of petrochemical products such as high density polyethylene, polypropylene, and ethylene glycol. The company's products are used in manufacturing general housewares, pipes, films, fabrics, bottles, containers, and automotive parts.
MRC