(ICIS) -- European bisphenol A (BPA) market players are forecasting shortages and tightness in the market from September because of upstream phenol supply problems caused by a force majeure at INEOS Phenol, sources said on Monday.
Another factor was that Slovakian company Slovnaft recently stopped production of feedstock phenol, exacerbating the shortage in Europe, sources said.
One BPA producer said that some buyers may find themselves in a difficult situation in September when INEOS Phenol shuts for planned maintenance for four weeks.
However, a BPA buyer said that the force majeure has not had any impact on the market and it will not change the situation in September. The buyer added that plenty of material is available despite the INEOS outage and additional product can be ordered from Asia and Russia if necessary.