MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mobin Petrochemical Company has reportedly shut down its refinery complex in Asaluyeh, Iran on 26 May 2021 after a flare occurred at the natural gas pipeline, according to CommoPlast.
It is uncertain on how long the company would take to restart the complex, which affected productions at five downstream methanol plants that depend on Mobin Petrochemical for gas feeds.
Among these five methanol operators, only Zagros Petrochemical has sent an official notification to its customers declaring the force majeure due to the shutdown at the upstream Mobin Petrochemical’s refinery complex, while other plants have yet to confirm the operation status. It is important to note that Sabalan Petrochemical’s 1.6 million tons/year methanol unit is currently under trial production. The company initially planned to start a commercial run in June.
Methanol is used in the methanol-to-olefins conversion process that produces ethylene and propylene monomers.
Meanwhile, methanol futures contracts in China surges visibly after the news, though polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) buyers retain a calm stance to monitor further development after news that Mobin Petrochemical might take only a few days to resume the pipeline operation, keeping the impact at minimal levels.
As MRC reported earlier, Mehr Petrochemical Company (MHPC), a major petrochemical producer in Iran, resumed operations at its high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant in Assaluyeh, Iran in late March, 2021. This HDPE line with an annual capacity of 300,000 tons/year was shut unexpectedly in the third week of March after a technical glitch.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC