Several petrochemical plants in Japan have been shut or are operating at a reduced rate following the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck the nation last week.
Closed plants include Mitsubishi Chemical's 420,000t/year benzene plant and 300,000t/year cumene plant in Kashima, Sun Allomer's 67,000t/year polypropylene plant in Kawasaki and JX Nippon Oil & Energy's 460,000t/year naphtha cracker in Kawasaki.
Mitsubishi Chemical's phenol/acetone plant in Kashima, Mitsui Chemicals' phenol/acetone plant in Chiba, Japan Polypropylene's two polypropylene plants and Maruzen Petrochemical's 520,000t/year naphtha cracker in Chiba have also been affected.
Japanese chemical maker Asahi Kasei has halted production at plants in Ibaraki and Migagi prefectures.
The earthquake will tighten the global petrochemical supply and push up prices, according to a research report from China-based research firm Huatai United Securities.
Icis.com reports that a number of other crackers are running at reduced rates, including Tonen's 515,000t/year cracker in Kawasaki.
