South Korea's Lotte Chemical will not be offering any spot solvent-grade mixed xylenes cargoes for November loading, a source close to the company said late Friday.
This was due to reduced aromatics output from the company's Yeosu and Daesan aromatics plants, following a move in late August to include LPG as a feedstock to the normal feedstock stream of naphtha.
Recent competitive prices of LPG had made it an attractive option as an alternative feedstock for Lotte Chemical, although this have reduced aromatics output its Yeosu and Daesan plants, the source said, adding that it was not yet decided when the use of LPG as a feedstock would end.
The company will also skip turnarounds at both its plants in 2017, the source added.
Lotte Chemical's Daesan plant can produce 240,000 mt/year of benzene, 120,000 mt/year of toluene and 72,000 mt/year of solvent-MX.
Its Yeosu BTX plant can produce 180,000 mt/year of benzene, 84,000 mt/year of toluene and 60,000 mt/year of solvent-MX.
