Lotte Chemical Titan, the Malaysian unit of South Korean petrochemical producer Lotte Chemical, will likely delay the construction and start-up of its 1mn t/yr ethylene cracker in Indonesia's Merak because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The project, known as Lotte Chemical Indonesia New Ethylene (Line), is supposed to begin construction by the end of this year or early 2021, with completion expected in 2023.
But the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy has prompted the producer to undertake a strategic review of the project's timeline, which will likely lead to a delay in the commencement of construction and operations. There is no update on the exact timeline yet.
The new cracker project will be able to produce 600,000 t/yr of propylene and comprises a 500,000 t/yr polyethylene (PE) unit.
Lotte Chemical Titan operates a 450,000 t/yr PE plant in Merak, west Java, which runs on ethylene from its 820,000 t/yr cracker in Malaysia.
