MOSCOW (MRC) -- Zhongke Refinery and Petrochemical is in plans to shut its cracker in Guangdong Province on 20 October, 2020, due to a persistent technical difficulty, reported CommoPlast with reference to a source close to the company.
The restart date of this 1 million tons/year cracker is not acertain at the time of this report. The shutdown at the cracker would also affect the downstream 350,000 tons/year high density polyethylene (HDPE)/linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) swing unit.
As MRC informed earlier, the company has also taken its No. 1 polypropylene (PP) unit in Guangdong Province offstream on 12 October 2020 - just a week after recovering from the earlier explosion at the 3thylene oOxide (EO) line that affected the entire complex. The No. 1 PP line has an annual capacity of 350,000 tons/year. Meanwhile, the No. 2 PP unit with 200,000 tons/year output are operating at stable rates.
Meanwhile. the 100,000 tons/year low density polyethylene (LDPE) line remains idled without a specific startup schedule.
Sinoepc Zhongke Refinery and Petrochemical has been attempting to start-up the newly constructed plant since June 2020. The producer might need more time to reach stable production.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,496,500 tonnes in the first eight months of 2020, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of all ethylene polymers increased, except for linear low desnity polyethylene (LLDPE). At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 767,2900 tonnes in the eight months of 2020 (calculated using the formula - production minus exports plus imports - and not counting producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.
China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group"s key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
MRC