American petrochemical giant Dow Chemical, part of the structure of DowDupont, closed the cracking unit in Belen (Boehlen, Germany) on March 1 due to technical problems, a company representative told ICIS.

After stopping this installation, which can produce 610 thousand tons of ethylene, 310 thousand tons of propylene per year, the entire petrochemical complex in Belen was temporarily closed on March 2-3 due to a technical problem with the water and steam supply system.

The causes of the failure are still under investigation, and it is unclear when production will resume. It is also not yet known whether force majeure for the supply of ethylene and propylene was announced.

At the Belene site, Dow Chemical produces acrylic acid, benzene, butadiene, ethylene, propylene, toluene, mixed xylenes, n-butyl acrylate, C4S crude oil, and raffinates.

Earlier it was noted that last year the company stopped the cracking unit in Belene, which can produce 610 thousand tons of ethylene, 310 thousand tons of propylene and 105 thousand tons of butadiene per year, for scheduled maintenance in March – April. Then the exact timing of the prophylaxis was not reported. And earlier, from January 6 to January 26, 2018, this cracking unit was closed due to a technological failure associated with the supply of raw materials.

Ethylene and propylene are the main raw materials for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to Scan Report Company Market Report, according to the results of last year, the estimated consumption of PE in Russia amounted to 1,941.47 thousand tons, which is 6% more than the same indicator a year earlier. Deliveries of low-pressure polyethylene (HDPE) and linear polyethylene (LDL) have increased. The estimated consumption of PP in the Russian market in 2018 increased by 2% compared with the figure for 2017 and amounted to 1,209.17 thousand tons. The largest increase in demand was shown by propylene copolymers.

DowDuPont Inc. – American company formed after the merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont on August 31, 2017. The market capitalization of the new company DowDuPont Inc amounted to about USD150 billion, which makes it a leading player in the global petrochemical market. Within 18 months, the company will be divided into three publicly traded companies: agriculture, materials science and specialized products. The board of directors was headed by Andrew Liveris, and Edward Brin became the CEO of the new company. The merger was estimated at USD130 billion.