South Korea’s LG Chem slashes PVC production rate following a fire at the cracker

It is reported that LG Chem has reduced the operating rates at its PVC unit in Yeosu prefecture by 30-40% following the shutdown at the upstream naphtha cracker that curbs the supply of ethylene feedstock.

The PVC unit has an annual capacity of 610,000 tons/year and currently running at 60-70% rates. The producer has not disclosed the timeline to when the unit could resume normal operating rates.

As reported earlier, LG Chem was formed to take its 1.16 million tons/year naphtha cracker offline on 5 November 2020 following a fire incident at the main control room. It is estimated that the cracker would remain shut for 20 days.