Idemitsu Kosan to cut Tokuyama cracker run rates

OREANDA-NEWS. September 09, 2015. Idemitsu Kosan plans to cut operating rates at its Tokuyama cracker to about 70pc in early October because of a maintenance shutdown at a vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant run by the Tokuyama group.

The naphtha cracker has the capacity to produce 686,000 t/yr of ethylene and 343,000 t/yr of propylene. Idemitsu Kosan expects to return operating rates to 100pc in the first half of November.

Tokuyama runs a 330,000 t/yr VCM plant at the site that relies on feedstock supply from Idemitsu Kosan's cracker. The VCM plant consumes about 100,000 t/yr of ethylene at full capacity.

The shutdown of Tokuyama's VCM plant will last until the second half of October, after which it will restart at 70-80pc. Operating rates will be raised to 100pc in the first half of November.

Idemitsu Kosan's Tokuyama plant does not have a butadiene extraction unit. Crude C4 capacity is estimated at about 35pc of ethylene capacity.