MOSCOW (MRC) -- LG Chema, South Korean petrochemical major, reduced run rates at all of its three naphtha crackers in Deasan and Yeosu, South Korea to approximately 80% on 5 January, 2021, on the back of weak demand and highly volatile upstream naphtha costs, according to CommoPlast with reference to market sources.
All three crackers with a combined capacity of 3.25 million tons of ethylene and 1.48 million tons of propylene would operate at reduced rates throughout the month of January.
It is reported that the producer would ramp up the production in February, however, it is unclear on the exact schedule.
As MRC reported earlier, LG Chem increased the capacity utilisation at its naphtha cracker in Daesan to 50% by 25 November, 2021, after restart and ramped up the operating rates to 100% on 26 November. LG Chem restarted this cracker on 22 November 2021 after a couple of delay due to a trouble at the cooling tower. The unit was taken offline in late September, 2021, for a routine maintenance. And on 23 November, it received commercial production. LG Chem’s Daesan cracker has an annual output of 1.2 million tons/year of ethylene and 600,000 tons/year of propylene.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
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