MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thailand's PTT Global Chemical seems likely to reduce its petrochemical processing rate to 85% due to a shortage of feedstock after a shutdown of its parent's gas separation plant unit 5 for three to five months, as per Plastemart.
PTT Global's petrochemical plants normally run at 95% of capacity. The Thai group is working on a plan to import naphtha and other feedstock to help offset the shortfall.
The gas plant shutdown is likely to affect PTT Global's profit by as much as 400 million baht (USD12.8 million) a month, as per company sources.
Thai refineries have been asked to boost production in order to offset a supply shortage caused by temporary shutdown of PTT’s Map Ta Phut unit at Rayong. The Ministry has requested cooperation of the refineries in reducing their LPG supply to the petrochemical sector, which will also be asked to use naptha as a raw material, instead of LPG. The meeting was held to seek ways to deal with the impact of the shutdown following a lightning strike on the facility.
As MRC wrote previously, in June 2013, Indonesian state-owned energy company Pertamina signed an agreement to purchase petrochemical products from Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical. The agreement serves as a pre-marketing strategy for Pertamina and PTT’s joint Indonesian petrochemical business. Under the agreement, PTT will deliver at least 5,000 tonnes of polyethylene and polypropylene products each month to Pertamina for sale in Indonesia.
PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year. PTTGC is 49% owned by state-controlled parent PTT Pcl, and uses ethane and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the gas plant as feedstock for its I4-2 olefins plant.
MRC