One sixth of overall European ethylene capacity was shut in November
Through November, broadly one sixth of Europe's overall ethylene capacity was offline, according to Chemweek with reference to OPIS records.
The reduction in cracker capacity was sufficiently large to tighten the supply of ethylene and propylene, as the remaining petrochemical producers looked to maintain strong run rates in the region.
The major units that have seen reduced capacity through maintenance or operational issues included the 1.31-million metric tons/year Geleen and 940,000-metric tons/year Moerdijk crackers in the Netherlands; the 865,000-metric tons/year Wilton plant in the UK, which is partly ethane fed; the 625,000-metric tons/year Stenungsund facility in Sweden, also partly ethane fed; the 400,000-metric tons/year plant at Porvoo in Finland; and the 310,000-metric tons/year Wesseling cracker in Germany. The Porvoo plant is expecting a restart in early December.
