Saudi International Petrochemical Company, or Sipchem, has postponed again a shutdown of its 330,000 mt/year vinyl acetate monomer plant in Jubail to September-October as its catalyst is working better than anticipated and also due to firm demand, a source close to the company said Thursday.
The company had in early July planned to shut the plant in August or September, but now the catalyst is expected to run smoothly until at least the end of August, the source said.
Initially, the company scheduled a shutdown from early July for 15-20 days to change the catalyst. The shutdown will result in a potential loss of around 13,500-18,000 mt of VAM output, according to industry estimates.
The company's upstream 460,000 mt/year acetic acid plant at Jubail will remain operational during the VAM plant shutdown.
Sipchem's VAM plant is operated by International Vinyl Acetate Company, which is 87% owned by Sipchem, 10% by Helm Arabia and 3% by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Endowments; while the AA plant is operated by International Petrochemical Company, which is also majority-owned by Sipchem (87%), 10% by Helm Arabia and 3% by the Ministry of Endowments.
