China-based Ningbo Fund will take off line its methanol-to-olefins (MTO) plant from 11 August for repairs.
The Ningbo-based unit in east China's Zhejiang province, which can produce 600,000 t/yr of ethylene and propylene, will shut because of technical issues and is expected to resume production in a week.
The shutdown is expected to result in an estimated 36,000t of lost methanol demand. The producer's total methanol demand, based on nameplate capacity, is 1.8mn t/yr.
The market may feel additional bearish pressures as a result of the shutdown. China's coastal storage has been near tank-top levels in the past few week, with domestic market prices mostly weaker.
East China prices today fell to 2,005-2,030 yuan/t ($285-288/t), down by Yn65-70/t from 2 August. This downturn was in line with the fall in methanol futures traded on the Zhengzhou commodity exchange, down today by 3.11pc to Yn2,058/t.
