Huntsman does not plan to have a turnaround at its MTBE facility in Port Neches, Texas, in 2016, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday.
The 766,000 mt/year unit underwent a turnaround in the first quarter that ended in April and conducted some maintenance work in October and November, when electrical issues at the Port Neches site led to shutdowns at a number of units.
US Gulf Coast MTBE market participants have anticipated tightness in the first quarter of 2016 due to producer turnarounds, but the tightness has not been expected to match the first quarter of this year, when all four US Gulf Coast producers -- Huntsman, Enterprise Products Partners (550,000 mt/year in Mont Belvieu, Texas), LyondellBasell (525,000 mt/year in Channelview, Texas), and TPC Group (50,000 mt/year in Houston, Texas) -- underwent maintenance activities.
Platts last assessed US Gulf Coast MTBE on Monday at $1.5595/gal FOB USG as pricing has hovered near 6 1/2-year lows in the final month of the year.
