Celanese says Clear Lake methanol unit restarted, AA/VAM units to restart in October
Celanese said Monday that its 1.7 million mt/year Fairway Methanol unit at its Clear Lake complex in Pasadena, Texas, had restarted and was approaching full rates after it and other units were idled when a fire damaged a carbon monoxide unit on September 21.
Petrotahlil :The company also said in Monday's statement that its 300,000 mt/year vinyl acetate monomer and 1.3 million mt/year acetic acid units were expected to restart at reduced rates in October, "with full operating rates for all production units" expected to reach within the fourth quarter this year.
The company said it was assessing potential impact on available product volumes, and was using its global network to keep contract customers supplied. The fire's cause is under investigation, and no injuries were reported.
The methanol unit is a joint venture with Mitsui & Co.
Shipping operations at Clear Lake and other associated terminals continued to operate without interruption, the company said.
US spot methanol was assessed flat on the day at 78 cents/gal FOB USG for October Monday. Export acetic acid was last assessed September 26 at $450/mt FOB USG, up $90 on the week, and the domestic market at 20.75 cents/lb delivered, up 1.25 cents over the same period of time. Export VAM was last assessed the same date at $1,000/mt FOB USG, up $30 from the prior week, while domestic VAM was assessed at 48.50 cents/lb delivered, up 1.25 cents on the week.
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