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(Bloomberg) -- Fina Antwerp Olefins
NV, a petrochemical venture of Total SA and Exxon Mobil Corp., will halt a
naphtha cracker next month for planned maintenance, two people with knowledge of
the matter said.
Naphtha cracker 3 will be idled at the site in Belgium from the end of
March, they said, declining to be named because the information is confidential.
The shutdown will last for as long as six weeks, one of the people said. The
cracker can produce 610,000 metric tons of ethylene a year, according to the
Association of Petrochemicals Producers in Europe. Ethylene is used in plastics
products from car parts to carrier bags.
Naphtha cracker 2 at the same site in Antwerp was shut for a few hours on
Feb. 25 because of pressure problems, one of the people said. The unit can
produce 550,000 tons of ethylene annually, according to the association’s
website.
The Antwerp site has three naphtha crackers. Cracker 1 is the smallest
with a capacity of 255,000 tons a year. Total and Exxon declined to comment on
the crackers, referring questions to the joint venture.
mrcplast.com
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