Aster Chemicals declares force majeure at Singapore naphtha cracker: sources

[SINGAPORE] Singapore’s Aster Chemicals and Energy has declared force majeure on petrochemical supplies from its naphtha cracker on Bukom island, according to a letter seen by Reuters and sources with direct knowledge of the matter on Thursday (Aug 28).

In the letter, the company attributed the force majeure to an “unforeseen event” at its ethylene cracker complex, which has been under planned maintenance since Aug 1.

The affected products were not listed in the letter to customers seen by Reuters.

The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

It remains unclear how long the 1.1-million-ton-per-year (tpy) unit will be shut, though sources with direct knowledge of the matter said the original restart date was the first half of September.

A steam cracker typically breaks down naphtha into petrochemical products such as ethylene and propylene, both building blocks for plastic materials.

The crude distillation units with a total processing capacity of 237,000 barrels per day (bpd) at this Bukom site will continue running at slightly reduced rates because of this issue, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

All the sources sought anonymity as they were not authorised to speak with the media. REUTERS