MOSCOW (MRC) -- LG Chem, a South Korean petrochemical major, has shut down its naphtha cracker in Yeosu following a fire at dawn, a company spokesman said on Thursday.
The company said a fire broke out at its central control room at the Yosu cracker complex at around midnight local time (15:00 GMT) today.
The country's largest chemical company said it was in the process of figuring out the cause of the fire.
The facility can process about 1.2 million tonnes of ethylene per year (tpy).
The cracker shutdown is expected to last at least three weeks.
As MRC reported earlier, LG Chem is planning to spend USD2.4-billion to expand its naphtha cracking center (NCC) and polyolefin (PO) plant in Yeosu, South Korea. The project, which will expand the NCC and PO facility by 800,000 t/y each, is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC"s ScanPlast report, Russia"s estimated PE consumption totalled 1,594,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high denstiy polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, exluding producers" inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.
LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
MRC