China’s Qilu Petrochemical shut cracker and downstream units after fire

According to market sources, Qilu Petrochemical has reportedly taken the entire complex in Shandong, China offline after a fire hit the naphtha cracker on-site on 23 December 2023.

The incident did not have any direct impact on the downstream productions, however, caused substantial damage to the 800,000 tons/year cracker, which disrupted feed supply. Initial assessment showed the company might take up to 30 days to bring the cracker online.

Impacted units include: 

Sources said that the month-long shutdown might have minimal impact on the PP market due to the small annual output from the maker, however, PP and PVC market might withness some temporary tightness moving forward.