Shell Chemicals has declared force majeure on at its Singapore based cracker unit. The force majeure was declared on back of shutdown of its naphtha cracker unit on 27 September 2016. The unit is located at Pulau Bukom in Singapore. According to company sources,” we had to initiate a shutdown of the ethylene cracker complex at Pulau Bukom manufacturing site for unplanned maintenance work to repair a compressor, and recovery efforts are underway”.
The complex had an “operational upset” at around 13:30 Singapore time (05on 27 September, which resulted in flaring. “Safety remains our top priority and we want to ensure the integrity of our assets before we resume operations,” he said.
Shell was heard to be a 3,500-tonne ethylene cargo for prompt shipment, and has sent out a buying enquiry for butadiene (BD), market sources said.
Meanwhile, Singapore based other downstream producers have either shut or reduced their production following the shutdown of Shell’s cracker unit.
Other Phenol-maker Changshu Changchun Chemical has curtailed their production rate at its 540,000 tonne/year Cumene plant in Singapore. Mitsui Phenols has also reduced its production and is unsure about maintaining its 90% production at its Phenol/Acetone plant.
