Singapore's Shell cut cracker run rate on technical woes

According to market sources, Shell has cut the operation rate at its Singapore naphtha cracker to 80% this week due to some unexpected technical woes at one of the furnaces. It is unclear on how serious is the issue and how long would it take for the cracker to ramp up the rate.

Located in Pulau Bukom, Singapore, The cracker is able to produce 1 million tons/year of ethylene, 550,000 tons/year of propylene, 155,000 ton/year of butadiene and 780,000 ton/year of MEG.

A buyers in the country reported that their propylene and ethylene allocations from Shell were affected.