Ineos Oxide, part of the Ineos Group, declared force majeure on ethylene oxide produced at its 420,000 metric tons per year plant in Bayport, Texas. The move follows an unplanned turnaround that began Oct. 16 due to technical issues, according to a source familiar with operations.
Market participants said ethylene glycols and glycol ethers supply will likely be affected. Downstream units at Bayport include a 375,000 t/y ethylene glycols plant and a 165,000 t/y glycol ethers plant.
No restart date has been confirmed. Ineos declined to comment when contacted on Oct. 27.
A producer said November and December monoethylene glycol supply had been heard to be long by 38,000-48,000 t before the force majeure.
Market participants said the outage could affect adjacent markets. One polyol buyer noted polyester polyol prices had risen recently despite very weak demand, with producers citing diethylene glycol. Platts assessed US spot diethylene glycol at 53 cents/lb FOB US Gulf on Oct. 23, down 2.5 cents/lb on the week.
