Another polyethylene plant is to be closed by LyondellBasell to rationalise capacity.
In March it switched off LDPE production at its Fos-sur-Mer site in France and made this a permananent closure in April. Now it is to shut its HDPE production at Chocolate Bayou in Texas, USA. The plant has a capacity of around 220,000 tonnes and will be shut by the end of July.
“In the current market environment, with declining demand for polyethylene in the United States and diminishing export opportunities due to the expansion of global capacity, we are taking steps to rationalise capacity,” said Vaughn Deasy, senior vice president, base chemicals and polyethylene. “We are experiencing tough margins and have excess capacity in our system. These are difficult decisions but steps must be taken to reduce costs and better balance supply in an environment of reduced demand.”
LyondellBasell has also already shut down its Chocolate Bayou olefins plant, which is on a separate site.
Source: britishplastics.co.uk
