Wanhua’s plant restarts; the operating rate of local MTBE plants reaches its highest level this year
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According to the data model from Zhuochuang Information, the overall operating rate of MTBE production facilities across the country this week was 61.80%, up by 12.29% compared to last week； The overall operating rate of MTBE plants in the Shandong region is around 72.96%, a significant increase of 18.92% compared to last week. The overall operating rate of MTBE plants reached its highest level for the year, mainly due to the restart of Wanhua’s 750,000 tons per year PO/MTBE plant in Yantai, Shandong. It is understood that the facility resumed operation with feedstock supply around the 8th of this month, and production is now stable. The daily output of MTBE exceeds 2,000 tons, with a product purity of over 99%; it contains virtually no sulfur or methanol. The propylene content, which had posed problems for the manufacturers in the past, has also seen a significant reduction thanks to the new propylene removal unit. Shipments are still being sent to the tank farms in East and South China, with official deliveries expected to begin next week. At present, large-scale MTBE production facilities such as Yantai Wanhua and Yuhuang Shengrong are operating normally, and the supply of MTBE is on the rise. However, the atmosphere in the gasoline market is currently weak; refineries tend to expect a reduction in their production levels, and they are more cautious when purchasing raw materials for blending. Buying based on actual sales remains the prevailing approach. From a news perspective, due to concerns over future oversupply of crude oil, international oil prices are showing a clear downward trend; currently they are at their lowest level since August this year. This has caused the change rate for crude oil to turn negative once again, with negative signals from the news landscape intensifying. As a result, market participants have less confidence in future trends and are taking more cautious approaches in their trading decisions.
Compared to the continuously declining MTBE market, prices in the raw material market remain relatively strong. Currently, the transaction price of high-olefin tetrahydrocarbons in the northwest region remains around 4,300 yuan per ton, and the price of tetrahydrocarbons after etherification is not much different; it has remained stable at a high level of 4,250–4,300 yuan per ton recently. High raw material prices have left many MTBE manufacturers operating at a loss; if these prices fail to decline, it is possible that some manufacturers will choose to shut down operations as a way to avoid further cost pressures.
Thank you for the extra points as encouragement. :handshake:handshake:handshake
750,000 tons of MTBE per year – this facility is absolutely amazing; it means that half of Sinopec’s MTBE production facilities would be unnecessary.
Currently, many companies use their own MTBE production facilities to meet their own needs, which results in relatively lower costs (C4 is produced by their own gas fractionation units)