MOSCOW (MRC) -- Korea Petrochemical Industry Co (KPIC) is presently running its steam cracker at maximum capacity levels, according to Apic-online.
A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the company is currently operating at the plant at 100% production capacity rates. Earlier, the plant was operating near 90% of production capacity rate in May 2020.
Located at Onsan city in South Korea, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 800,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 410,000 mt/year.
As MRC informed previously, in June 2017, KPIC finilized the expansion of its ethylene production capacity. Thus, KPIC started commercial operation at its Ulsan-based Naphtha Cracking Center (NCC) from Jun 23, 2017. Earlier, KPIC produced about 470,000 mt/year of ethylene from its Ulsan-based NCC. With the expansion, the company added 330,000 mt/year of ethylene, and its combined ethylene capacity reached 800,000 mt/year.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 721,290 tonnes in the first four month of 2020, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments grew partially because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 347,440 tonnes in January-April 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Supply exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
KPIC is one of the key producers of ethylene in South Korea. The companyпїЅs ethylene capacity accounted for about 6% of total ethylene production in South Korea before the expansion was completed, and now the companyпїЅs market share will be increased to nearly 10%.
MRC