Spanish energy and petrochemical producer Repsol has reduced styrene production at its propylene oxide/styrene monomer (POSM) unit in Tarragona, Spain, after fire broke out at the end of November, curtailing the availability of the ethylene feedstock, according to market sources.
The company declared force majeure on styrene deliveries from the site on Nov. 23, following the outbreak of fire due to a leak at the ethylene cracker that provides the feedstock for the POSM unit, sources told OPIS. Repsol did not respond to an OPIS request for more information.
The company declared force majeure on Nov. 23 on POSM supply from the plant, which is capable of producing 200,000 metric tons/year of propylene oxide and 450,000 mt/year of styrene, market sources told OPIS on Tuesday.
Production of POSM, polyolefins and glycols in Tarragona has been “drastically” reduced due to technical problems, limiting product availability, the same sources said.
The force majeure currently remains in place, and despite the decrease in supply from Repsol’s POSM unit, the European styrene market remains well supplied, sources said, as imports from the U.S. market have compensated for the dip in supply.
Around 40,000 mt of styrene is expected to load in the U.S. for shipment towards northwest Europe and Mediterranean during December, sources told OPIS.
Styrene is used to produce finished consumer products, including food containers, tires and building insulation.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
–Reporting by Fahima Mathé, [email protected]; Editing by Rob Sheridan, [email protected]
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