China's Shen Hua Chemical Industrial shut its butadiene rubber plant in Nantong on Wednesday for about a month, a source close to the company said Thursday.
High butadiene feedstock costs and poor domestic demand were among the factors leading to the shutdown of the 72,000 mt/year BR plant.
A decision to shut the plant was made late December.
Several domestic tire producers have been operating their plants at reduced rates, citing poor demand from overseas markets such as the US and Europe, and as a result, tire and rubber inventories have increased, industry sources said.
Several BR rubber producers were operating their plants at about 60-70% of capacity, a producer said.
Rubber stocks are estimated at about 250,000 mt in Qingdao, of which 220,000 mt comprise natural rubber and 30,000 mt synthetic rubber, a rubber dealer said Wednesday.
Butadiene costs have risen as end-users have sought to secure their feedstock requirements ahead of turnarounds, both locally and overseas.
For instance, Sinopec Maoming plans to shut its No. 1 naphtha-fed steam cracker in southwestern Guangdong province over February 13-25 for scheduled maintenance.
The cracker supplies crude C4 feedstock to a 50,000 mt/year butadiene extraction unit, which will run at an undisclosed reduced rate as a result of the shutdown.
In South Korea, Honam Petrochemical is scheduled to shut its naphtha-fed steam cracker in Yeosu over March 1-April 15 for 45 days. Honam's steam cracker supplies crude C-4 feedstock to a 130,000 mt/year butadiene plant, which will also be shut.
Another South Korean producer, YNCC, will shut its No. 2 naphtha-fed steam cracker in Yeosu for about 30 days from March 20. The steam cracker supplies feedstock to a 220,000 mt/year butadiene plant in Yeosu that is owned by YNCC.
