Iran’s Arya Sasol to Shut Cracker for Maintenance Next Week
SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Iran’s Arya Sasol Petrochemical is expected to shut its 1m tonne/year cracker at Assaluyeh for a month-long annual turnaround next week, a source close to the company said on Wednesday.
The turnaround includes a maintenance at the company’s derivative polyethylene (PE) lines, said the source without providing further details.
Arya Sasol, which is also known as Olefin No 9, is a joint venture of National Petrochemical Co (NPC) and South African chemicals giant Sasol.
Jam Petrochemical, which is wholly owned by NPC, operates a 1.32m tonne/year facility at the same site. The cracker is expected to remain in service during this period, the source said.
"Some portion of the lack of product from Arya Sasol will be compensated by Jam but it won’t be 100%," he said in response to questions on whether ethylene exports would be affected.
The current operating rate at the Jam cracker, at 50-60%, is expected to be raised during the Arya Sasol turnaround although the actual output would be determined later, he said. He added that ethylene contractual deliveries were likely to be maintained but there would be no more spot sales for February loading cargoes.
Some ethylene cargoes for export could also come from Marun Petrochemical if Bandar Imam Petrochemical Co (BIPC) successfully restarts its 400,000 tonne/year cracker in late February/early March after ongoing technical modification works to increase the unit’s nameplate capacity by 100,000-150,000 tonnes/year.
Marun, which runs a 1.1m tonne/year cracker at the same site, is currently supplying ethylene feedstock for BIPC’s derivative units, which include a 100,000 tonne/year low density polyethylene (LDPE) unit and a 60,000 tonne/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) unit.
The restart of BIPC’s cracker had been postponed three times since the cracker was taken off line in late October 2008.
The turnaround includes a maintenance at the company’s derivative polyethylene (PE) lines, said the source without providing further details.
Arya Sasol, which is also known as Olefin No 9, is a joint venture of National Petrochemical Co (NPC) and South African chemicals giant Sasol.
Jam Petrochemical, which is wholly owned by NPC, operates a 1.32m tonne/year facility at the same site. The cracker is expected to remain in service during this period, the source said.
"Some portion of the lack of product from Arya Sasol will be compensated by Jam but it won’t be 100%," he said in response to questions on whether ethylene exports would be affected.
The current operating rate at the Jam cracker, at 50-60%, is expected to be raised during the Arya Sasol turnaround although the actual output would be determined later, he said. He added that ethylene contractual deliveries were likely to be maintained but there would be no more spot sales for February loading cargoes.
Some ethylene cargoes for export could also come from Marun Petrochemical if Bandar Imam Petrochemical Co (BIPC) successfully restarts its 400,000 tonne/year cracker in late February/early March after ongoing technical modification works to increase the unit’s nameplate capacity by 100,000-150,000 tonnes/year.
Marun, which runs a 1.1m tonne/year cracker at the same site, is currently supplying ethylene feedstock for BIPC’s derivative units, which include a 100,000 tonne/year low density polyethylene (LDPE) unit and a 60,000 tonne/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) unit.
The restart of BIPC’s cracker had been postponed three times since the cracker was taken off line in late October 2008.
source: www.icis.com
