Slovak refiner Slovnaft is expected to redirect toluene to meet term obligations after an explosion at parent company Mol's Tiszaujvaros petrochemical site curtailed aromatics output, a source with knowledge of the matter said.
The 22 May incident, which killed one person and injured nine, damaged Mol's 380,000 t/yr Olefin-1 steam cracker and will keep it offline for several months, the company said on 27 May. The outage has cut pygas output from the cracker, a key feedstock for aromatics production.
Mol produces benzene and toluene from reformate streams and cracker-derived pygas at its Szazhalombatta site, which is integrated with Tiszaujvaros for feedstock supply. The cracker outage is restricting feedstock availability and limiting aromatics output at the refinery.
The disruption is expected to cut June toluene output by around 3,000 t and benzene by a similar volume, according to the source, tightening prompt availability across central Europe. Slovnaft will cover roughly 75pc of Mol's toluene contracted volumes, with the rest supplied from inventories in Hungary.
Slovnaft's ability to increase supply could be limited. Its 115,000 b/d Bratislava refinery began an unplanned partial shutdown of its 220,000 t/yr ethylene unit on 25 May, according to company data distributed locally flagging flaring, odour and noise. The disruption may last through 28 May, but the company has not disclosed the cause.
Lower spot availability could offer support to benzene and toluene prices in central and eastern Europe, particularly for prompt delivery.
Further direction will depend on how long repairs at Tiszaujvaros take. Mol has not given a firm restart date, but added that repairs will take several months.
