Ineos in December converted its 240,000 mt/year C4 linear low-density polyethylene plant in Cologne, Germany, to metallocene LLDPE c6 production, industry sources have said.
Ineos was not immediately available for comment.
As a consequence of the move Ineos have now withdrawn from the LLDPE C4 production in Europe. Ineos' other European LLDPE plant in Europe, in Grangemouth, Scotland, is a swing plant between LLDPE C6 and high density polyethylene.
"Ineos had informed its customers since January 2012 that they will be out of the market by the end of the year, so the move does not have an effect on prices," a market source source said Wednesday.
The move reflects European chemical industry's move away from bulk chemical production to the specialty end of the value chain.
LLDPE spot prices were assessed at Eur1,335-1,340/mt ($1,775-1,781/mt) FD NWE Tuesday, steady week-on-week.
