European crackers preparing for turnarounds in autumn

In Europe, several producers will halt production at their crackers for planned turnarounds in the autumn, which is expected to play a crucial role in setting the tone of ethylene and propylene markets as well as their derivatives.

Within the region, Borealis will take the lead in the imminent cracker turnarounds. The producer will shut its Porvoo cracker in Finland in the August-September period. The cracker has a production capacity of 400,000 tons/year.

In the September-October period, Total and INEOS will also shut their crackers for maintenance. Total’s Gonfreville cracker in France has a production capacity of 525,000 tons/year while INEOS’ Cologne site in Germany reportedly houses two crackers with production capacities of 660,000 tons/year and 450,000 tons/year.

Likewise, Versalis is planning to take its its 490,000 tons/year cracker offline in Port Marghera, Italy for a planned maintenance in Q3, although no exact date and details were revealed so far.

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Players across Europe are now waiting to see the outcome of August ethylene and propylene contracts, for which there are mixed expectations. Players in the PP and PE markets are not so sure about a shift in the market direction for August as demand will visibly cool off due to the holidays. However, increases are seen highly likely for September. In the light of the planned maintenance shutdowns at four major crackers and their impact on the monomers, sellers’ possible hike targets for PP and PE in September will also have a leg to stand on, some argue.