MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shintech, a subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., has launched a turnaround at its 1.4 million mt/year polyvinyl chloride (PVC) complex, also in Texas, reported S&P Global with reference to sources familiar with the companies' operations.
Shintech's planned work on one of the trains at its Freeport complex was underway on Wednesday, 25 March, and expected to last through most of April, the source familiar with that company's operations said.
Shintech did not respond to a request for comment.
Previously, market sources had expected the turnaround to occur in March, as is typical, but the source said earlier this month it was planned for April. The planned work had prompted the company to stockpile PVC to meet domestic and contract demand, limiting export volume availability for March and April.
As MRC informed previously, in July 2018, Shintech began to construct a new integrated plant to PVC from salt. The new plant will be on industrial site developed by Shintech, located next to Shintech's existing plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana.
Shintech obtained permits to build a plant capable of producing 1.9 billion pounds (860 thousand tons) per year of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), the raw material of PVC, and 660 thousand tons per year of caustic soda, and has commenced construction of the first phase of the plan. The first phase will increase production capacity by 640 million pounds (290 thousand tons) of PVC per year and 270 thousand tons of caustic soda per year. The amount of this investment is expected to be $1.49 billion, which Shintech will fund by itself. Completion of the construction is targeted for the end of 2020. Annual production capacity after the completion of the first phase will be 7.14 billion pounds (3,240 thousand tons per year) of PVC and 1,570 thousand tons of caustic soda per year.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, contrary to seasonal factors, Russian producers of unmixed PVC have maintained a high level of capacity utilisation. Russia's overal PVC output totalled 91,700 tonnes in January 2020, up by 4% year on year. January production of unmixed PVC was 91,700 tonnes versus 87,760 tonnes in January 2019 and 81,400 tonnes in December 2019. Thus, despite relatively weak demand for resin from the domestic market, the average capacity utilisation exceeded 95% last month. Russia's overall PVC production reached 975,000 tonnes in 2019, compared to 958,600 tonnes a year earlier.
MRC