For the time being, there is no clearance for the supply of LDPE in Europe. Saudi Arabian petrochemicals giant Sabic (Riyad; www.sabic.com) has extended its force majeure on the material from its British site in Wilton for an indefinite period. For the line, which has a capacity of 400,000 t/y – one of the key plants in the western European market – the group had declared a force majeure after a technical breakdown at the beginning of November 2020 (see Plasteurope.com of 04.11.2020).

Sabic reported in a letter that the technical malfunction has been resolved in the meantime. The force majeure, however, remains in place. The line will have to remain shut over the next few weeks, because “raw material cannot be procured”. Sabic does not expect to be able to deliver normally until next year.

The statement comes as a surprise because Sabic operates an ethane cracker at the site itself, which, however, has been undergoing maintenance since the end of September 2020. According to reports, the check should take about 75 days – roughly until mid-December. But since this was already known at the time of the FM declaration for PE, the current view is that the missing raw material cannot be ethylene. A comment from Sabic was not made available till the publishing of this article.

At the same time, the Saudi company will stop deliveries around the turn of the year – thanks to the impending “Brexit” (see Plasteurope.com of 01.12.2020). From 24 December to 5 January 2021, there will be no shipments from the UK to continental Europe.