Japan’s largest refiner ENEOS would put offline its larger naphtha-fed steam cracker at Kawasaki for emergency repairs on December 1 due to unexpected issues reported last week. Industry sources said the shutdown would last about 4-5 weeks. The mechanical problems occurred at the unit’s C4 separation unit. However, it did not result in an emergency shutdown. ENEOS will reduce operating rates at the cracker to 75%-80% this week before fully shutting it down.
The unit is capable of producing up to 515,000 tons/year of ethylene and 300,000 tons/year of propylene. The 105,000 tons/year butadiene unit at the same site will be idled as well, the source added. As a result of the planned shutdown, ENEOS is seeking to purchase ethylene and propylene to meet its contractual commitments to term customers. The company also operates a smaller cracker at Kawasaki able to produce up to 460,000 tons/year of ethylene, which is running at full capacity.
