MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thailand’s major petrochemical producer Integrated Refinery and Petrochemical Co (IRPC), a PTT Plc subsidiary, has ramped up operating rates at its Rayong-based aromatics unit to 100% since early January, a company source told TPS.
TPS had reported in mid-December that IRPC was running its aromatics unit at 85%. However, the company has been maintaining 100% operating rates since early January amid widening naphtha-to-toluene spread.
"The toluene-to-naphtha spread has been so good that we have decided to ramp up operating rates," the source said.
IRPC’s aromatics unit is located at Rayong, a city on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand. The company’s aromatics unit produces about 7,000 mt of benzene and 10,000-20,000 mt per month of toluene. Assuming that it is operating at 100%, it is able to produce up to 85,166 mt of benzene and 243,300 mt/year of toluene.
As MRC informed before, last week, IRPC was to shut its polypropylene (PP) plant for a maintenance turnaround. The plant is expected to remain shut for around 10 days. Located in Rayong province of Thailand, the PP plant has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.
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.
MRC