Kraton elastomer production hit by extended cracker shutdown

London – Pressure continues on rubber and elastomer production across Europe as the supply of raw materials remains disrupted in the region.

Petrochemicals major LyondellBasell on 28 Sept announced an extended outage of the cracker at its integrated olefins and polyolefins production site in Berre, France.

The ethylene cracker, which was damaged by a fire on 2 Aug, is now not expected to come back on-stream until early 2023, according to the petrochemicals major.

While repairs are due to be completed by November, LyondellBasell said that it would delay the restart due to “a combination of persistently high energy costs, compressing margins and falling demand for products in the region.”

Among materials suppliers impacted by the outage, Kraton on 24 Aug issued a force majeure on the production of SEBS (hydrogentated styrene-butadiene) elastomers at its facility in Berre.

Restrictions on SEBS supply from the site now look set to remain in place for another three months, at least – though some buyers report that Kraton is working to establish alternative sources of C4 and hydrogen for its Berre unit.