UPDATE: Malaysia's LCT shut whole petchem complex on water supply issues

As reported earlier, Lotte Chemical Titan (M) Sdn Bhd was forced to take both of its crackers in Pasir Gudang off-stream on 11 April 2017 as local utility companies perform upgrading works. However, a source close to the company revealed later that the whole petrochemical complex were down due to the same issue, including downstream PP and PE units.

The company is aiming to restart the plant by 16 April though supply to local market is slightly affected by the shutdown. A distributor commented, “We have to postpone the delivery schedule for many PP and PE cargoes to local buyers to early May. Supply for PP copolymers is especially tight and we have implemented MYR400/ton ($90/ton) hike on these grades and currently monitoring market respond. May outlook therefore might not as bad as initially expected.”   

Both of LCT’s crackers are able to produce 1.08 million tons/year of ethylene and 410,000 tons/year of propylene. Meanwhile, the company also has 390,000 tons/year of PP unit, 335,000 tons/year of HDPE and 230,000 tons/year of LDPE at the same site.