Hanwha TotalEnergies said on the 19th it has secured an additional 110,000 tons of heavy naphtha needed to produce paraxylene (PX). Delivery of the newly secured feedstock will proceed sequentially from mid next month.
Hanwha TotalEnergies had initially planned to cut PX production for the month of May and recover from June, but the recovery has effectively been moved up. With the additional feedstock, PX output is expected to increase again from mid next month, and the company said there will be no difficulty securing feedstock from June.
A Hanwha TotalEnergies official said, "The May operating rate adjustment was a temporary phenomenon caused by shipment delays of some contracted feedstock due to worsening local weather," adding, "With the additional feedstock, we will minimize the May operating rate decline and, by bringing in the originally contracted feedstock without a hitch, supply at the current level will be possible from the end of May."
Hanwha TotalEnergies also said the newly purchased feedstock will help increase the operating rate of its naphtha cracking center (NCC). The company's aromatics plant, which cracks heavy naphtha, produces light naphtha—an NCC feedstock—along with PX.
The additional feedstock will also boost light naphtha output, and by feeding it to the NCC plant, the company plans to raise the operating rate above the original plan and expand domestic supply of petrochemical products such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
A Hanwha TotalEnergies official said, "We will continue close communication with the government and do our best to expand domestic supply of medical and healthcare, agricultural, and industrial materials as well as essential products for people's daily lives."