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NewsSSESSMENTS: Impact Of Fire At LG Chem's Catalyst Plant On Supply

Author: SSESSMENTS

A source close to the producer told SSESMENTS.COM the impact on supply caused by the fire at LG Chem’s petrochemical complex in the southwestern city of Seosan on May 19. According to the company, LG Chem is investigating the exact cause but ignition of powder at the plant may be the reason behind the fire.

As South Korea is a top supplier to China for PP and in the top five suppliers for HDPE and LDPE, unexpected events such as explosions and fire could raise a concern about the availability of materials in the days to come. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, China imported more than a million tons of PP cargoes from South Korea in 2019. More than half of the figure was for PP Homopolymers. For HDPE Film, South Korea is the fourth top supplier with 757,786 tons of cargoes entered China in the same year. Meanwhile, the country is the fifth top supplier for LDPE to China. Further details are provided in the table below.

On May 20, SSESMENTS.COM was informed that the fire has not impacted the producer’s supply for PE and PVC. Only supply for metallocene PP is affected as a catalyst is needed in the production of the grades. Grades affected are provided in the table below. The producer ensures that PP Homopolymer supply is not disrupted.

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Import volume from South Korea to China in 2019

Rank of orderHDPEVolume (tons)LDPEPP (ALL)PP Homopolymer
1Saudi Arabia781,936IranSouth KoreaSouth Korea
2Iran461,101Saudi ArabiaSingaporeSaudi Arabia
3United Arab Emirates339,928United StatesSaudi ArabiaSingapore
4South Korea319,486QatarUnited Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates
5India251,002South KoreaTaiwanThailand

The grades of LG Chem's mPP affected by the explosion

GradeMFRApplicationRemark
MH170040Housewares, ToysHigh M.I Injection
MH185060Food container, Wall injection mouldingHigh M.I Injection
MH770025General purpose, non-woven-
MH7700S25Non-woven spun bond-
Description: * MH7700S has more compact molecular weight than MH7700. Machine processability is weak but extremely elastic

Tags: Asia Pacific,China,English,Freemium,NEA,News,PE,PP,PVC

Published on May 20, 2020 3:50 PM (GMT+8)
Last Updated on October 1, 2020 4:43 PM (GMT+8)