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(ICIS) - -LyondellBasell declared force
majeure on polyethylene (PE) following a power failure earlier in the week at
its plant in Morris, Illinois, sources said Thursday. The power failure occurred
on Sunday following high winds and lightning, according to a filing with the
National Response Center. An ethylene storage tank was overloaded because of the
power outage and was at risk of exploding, the report stated.
Depending on how long the outage lasts, producers might use the force
majeure, and subsequent supply disruptions, to lend strength to a proposed 5
cent/lb (USD 110/tonne) price-increase nomination that most sources said rolled
over from May to June. But one buyer suggested the outage will not last long and
will have little to no impact on a fairly well supplied market.
The Morris plant includes a 549 KTa ethylene unit, a 295.4 KTa
linear low density PE (LLDPE) unit and a 275 KTa low density PE (LDPE)
unit, according to the ICIS plants and projects.
The cracker was also off line, a market source said, adding, however,
that the outage was unlikely to impact the overall US ethylene market balance
because monomer consumption at the site was captive.
mrcplast.com
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