Kuwait's PIC to Shut Polypropylene Plant for Scheduled Maintenance

Kuwait's state-run Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC) plans to shutdown its polypropylene plant for two months in March 2011 as part of a scheduled maintenance, a top executive said in published remarks on Sunday.

"The shut down…is related to upgrading the three refineries for Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC), who are also restrained to a certain time period," PIC's Managing Director Maha Mulla Hussain was quoted as saying in daily al-Anbaa newspaper.

The polypropylene plant's production capacity is about 150,000 tonnes and is considered as one of the company's most important plants in Shuaiba, she said.

In February, PIC said its planned petrochemical plant will cost about $5 billion. The plant will produce over 1 million metric tonnes per year of etheylene and is expected to be operational by 2015.

source:kippreport