Sumitomo Chemical restarts PE plant after earthquake

Japanese petrochemical producer Sumitomo Chemical has resumed normal operations at its polyethylene (PE) production facility in the eastern prefecture of Chiba after it was forced to shut the plant following last weekend's earthquake.

The company resumed operations at the facility 3-4 days after the earthquake hit northeastern Japan on 13 February. A power outage caused by the quake had forced it to stop some PE production at the Chiba plant.

Sumitomo Chemical is preparing to restart the Chiba plant's polypropylene (PP) production facility, which was also halted following the earthquake, but is unsure exactly when PP output will resume.

The earthquake also disrupted operations at thermal power plants and oil refineries in east and northeast Japan. Eneos' 145,000 b/d Sendai refinery and some secondary units at its 270,000 b/d Negishi refinery are still off line, with no schedule for a restart. Rival refiner Idemitsu's 190,000 b/d Chiba refinery remains shut but is expected to be back on line soon.

By Nanami Oki