About 12,000 mt of Saudi-origin ethylene has been sold to Taiwan for September delivery as part of an incremental contract volume, market sources said Friday. The first 6,000 mt portion of the sale was set last week, with the second half of the parcel transacted Thursday, sources noted.
Saudi-origin ethylene supplies have recently become ample due to a series of monoethylene glycol plant problems. Market sources said the output of plants owned by Eastern Petrochemical (SHARQ) and Jubail United Petrochemical (JUPC) at Al Jubail have been reduced, partly due to an ethylene oxide supply problem.
SHARQ has three MEG lines with a total MEG production capacity of 1.35 million mt/year, while JUPC's MEG plant is capable of producing 575 million mt/year. A SABIC company source declined to disclose details of the run cut this week.
For its part, Taiwan has been under pressure from an ethylene shortage caused by the unexpected shutdown of Formosa Petrochemical's No. 1 naphtha cracker last week. The cracker restart had originally been set for Tuesday, but sources now say the earliest possible restart date will be September 20. The unit is capable of producing 700,000 mt of ethylene yearly.
Despite the influx of Saudi-origin material, the Northeast Asian ethylene market remained relatively stable this week as spot availability from regional suppliers remained tight.
For example, in South Korea -- one of the regions largest sources of spot ethylene -- supplies are tight due to a naphtha cracker turnaround by Honam Petrochemical. The unit, which has an ethylene production capacity of 720,000 mt/year, is scheduled to be shut for September 27 to October 26.
Northeast Asian prices are pegged at $1,260-1,270/mt CFR as of early Friday, unchanged from the pervious week.
Saudi-origin ethylene supplies have recently become ample due to a series of monoethylene glycol plant problems. Market sources said the output of plants owned by Eastern Petrochemical (SHARQ) and Jubail United Petrochemical (JUPC) at Al Jubail have been reduced, partly due to an ethylene oxide supply problem.
SHARQ has three MEG lines with a total MEG production capacity of 1.35 million mt/year, while JUPC's MEG plant is capable of producing 575 million mt/year. A SABIC company source declined to disclose details of the run cut this week.
For its part, Taiwan has been under pressure from an ethylene shortage caused by the unexpected shutdown of Formosa Petrochemical's No. 1 naphtha cracker last week. The cracker restart had originally been set for Tuesday, but sources now say the earliest possible restart date will be September 20. The unit is capable of producing 700,000 mt of ethylene yearly.
Despite the influx of Saudi-origin material, the Northeast Asian ethylene market remained relatively stable this week as spot availability from regional suppliers remained tight.
For example, in South Korea -- one of the regions largest sources of spot ethylene -- supplies are tight due to a naphtha cracker turnaround by Honam Petrochemical. The unit, which has an ethylene production capacity of 720,000 mt/year, is scheduled to be shut for September 27 to October 26.
Northeast Asian prices are pegged at $1,260-1,270/mt CFR as of early Friday, unchanged from the pervious week.
