Southeast Asia schedules cracker turnarounds

A series of cracker turnarounds in southeast Asia during next year's first quarter will tighten ethylene and propylene supplies, potentially lending support to current weak sentiment in the olefins market

Thailand's state-owned producer PTT Global Chemical will be having scheduled maintenance for 45 days at its I-4 No.1 and I-4 No.2 crackers starting from mid-January. The No.1 cracker has a nameplate 515,000 t/yr ethylene, 300,000 t/yr propylene and 75,000 t/yr butadiene capacity. The No.2 cracker has a capacity of 400,000 t/yr of ethylene and 30,000 t/yr of propylene.

Malaysia's Lotte Titan will be having maintenance at its 440,000 t/yr ethylene cracker during March for 45 days. The cracker is also able to produce 220,000 t/yr of propylene and 100,000 t/yr of butadiene.

Thailand's Siam Cement Group will also be shutting down its Map Ta Phut Olefins 1mn t/yr ethylene cracker for a turnaround from 2 May for 45 days.

ExxonMobil in Singapore is likely to have a turnaround at its 1mn t/yr cracker during next year's second quarter, although the exact date could not be confirmed.

Olefins prices in southeast Asia have been on a downwards trend since the end of November amid bearish sentiment in downstream polyethylene and polypropylene markets. The turnarounds in southeast Asia during next year's first half with cut ethylene and propylene supplies, which in turn will underpin olefins market sentiment and prices.

But additional supplies in northeast Asia might weigh on prices, which will also cap any gains in southeast Asia. China's Hengli's 1.5mn t/yr and Zhejiang Petrochemical's 1.4mn t/yr crackers are scheduled to start up in the coming months. South Korea's Hanwha Total also expanded its cracker by 310,000 t/yr to take capacity to 1.4mn t/yr in September, although this has been experiencing some recent disruptions.

By Lee Toong Shien