Repsol’s Tarragona PO turnaround to start 15 Jan

Spain's Repsol will begin a 52-day planned maintenance programme at its Tarragona chemicals complex on 15 January.

The firm will shut down its POSM unit, which has 200,000 t/yr of propylene oxide (PO) capacity, and its PO derivatives units, including its 75,000 t/yr propylene glycol production line and its 150,000 t/yr polyether polyols production line.

The Tarragona complex also supplies PO to Repsol's site at Puertollano, where the firm has 70,000 t/yr of polyether polyols capacity and 22,000 t/yr of propylene glycol capacity. Output at Puertollano will probably be affected during the Tarragona shutdown.

Unplanned production constraints in the fourth quarter of 2023 may have hampered Repsol's ability to build stocks ahead of the scheduled maintenance, with the supply of propylene glycol and polyols from Tarragona limited in December.

The turnaround will include €50mn ($54.8mn) of maintenance work and €100mn investment in safety and efficiency improvements, Tarragona's Chemical Industry Association (AEQT) said today. The investments should improve competitiveness, energy efficiency, and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 104,000t.

By Laura Tovey-Fall