China Petroleum & Chemical Corp or Sinopec has raised its ex-works prices for butadiene for the second time this week, this time by 8% in the eastern, northern and southern provinces, local end-users said Thursday.
Its subsidiaries in East China, Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical and Zhenhai Refining & Chemical, are now offering butadiene at Yuan 27,000/mt, or about $3,590/mt on an import parity basis, up Yuan 2,000/mt, or 8% from Yuan 25,000/mt on Tuesday, the sources said.
In South China, Guangzhou Petrochemical and Maoming Petrochemical are selling butadiene at Yuan 27,500/mt, up Yuan 2,000/mt or nearly 8% from Yuan 25,500/mt on Monday.
In North China, Sinopec Sabic Tianjin is also selling butadiene at Yuan 27,500/mt, up Yuan 2,000/mt from Yuan 25,500/mt on Monday.
Sinopec on Tuesday had raised its ex-works prices for butadiene in East China by more than 6%, and on Monday raised its prices in South and North China by Yuan 1,500/mt to Yuan 25,500/mt.
Butadiene supply is tight in China, an end-user said, and looming turnarounds at domestic and overseas plants are expected to further restrict supply.
Sinopec Maoming's No. 1 facility plans to shut its naphtha-fed steam cracker in southwestern Guangdong province February 13-25. The cracker can make 380,000 mt/year of ethylene and supplies crude C4 feedstock to a 50,000 mt/year butadiene extraction unit, which will operate at an undisclosed reduced rate due to the shutdown.
In South Korea, Honam Petrochemical plans to shut its naphtha-fed steam cracker at Yeosu March 1-April 15 for 45 days. Honam's cracker supplies crude C-4 feedstock to a 130,000 mt/year butadiene plant, which will also be shut.
Also in South Korea, YNCC's No. 2 naphtha-fed steam cracker at Yeosu will be shut for an estimated 30 days from March 20. The cracker supplies feedstock to a 220,000 mt/year butadiene plant at Yeosu that is owned by YNCC.
