(ICIS) -- Shell is expected to keep shut its 800 KTa mixed-feed cracker in Pulau Bukom, Singapore, for 10 days following operational issues at the facility on 18 March, market sources said on Monday.
The cracker was shut at 21:00 hours Singapore time (13:00 GMT) on Friday due to a compressor issue, traders said. The cracker had recently completed a turnaround and was restarted over the weekend of 12-13 March.
Shell has declared force majeure (FM) on monoethylene glycol (MEG) and ethylene (C2) following the shutdown, while prompt shipments of propylene (C3) will also be affected, sources said.
The cracker complex produces 800,000 tonnes/year of C2, 450,000 tonnes/year of C3 and 230,000 tonnes/year of benzene, according to Shell's website.
Shell's 750,000 tonne/year MEG plant on neighbouring Jurong Island gets its C2 feedstock via pipelines from the cracker complex.