MOSCOW (MRC) -- The light-feed 625,000-metric tons/year Borealis steam cracker at Stenungsund, Sweden, is expected to restart operations in the fourth quarter this year after a fire broke out at the plant in May, reported Chemweek with reference to the company's statement Friday.
The cracker has been under force majeure for almost four months after the blaze at the plant on 10 May, which was subsequently brought under control the following day.
"The restart will be in Q4 this year," a Borealis spokesperson told OPIS Friday.
The Stenungsund cracker is known to have substantial cavern storage for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as feedstock, believed to be in excess of 300,000 metric tons for propane alone, according to sources. Borealis has continued to import cargoes while the steam cracker is offline, with an estimated 270,000 metric tons of LPG imported to the site in the months following the declaration of force majeure, according to OPIS records. The restart could begin in November, according to trading sources.
Borealis also operates a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant at Kallo, Belgium, and has started construction on a second PDH unit at the same location, with a last known start-up date pegged for the second quarter of 2022, according to the company. The PDH plant was said at the time to cost USD1 billion and have the capacity to produce 750,000 metric tons/year of propylene.
OPIS is an IHS Markit company.
As MRC informed earlier, Borealis said Monday (11 May, 2020) that it was still investigating a fire that broke out late Saturday at its Stenungsund steam cracker in Sweden. Borealis said in an initial public statement issued Sunday that "its emergency plan was immediately activated by the local crisis team." The fire broke out on 9 May, at 20:45 CEST.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.
Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.
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