China's Wanhua Chemical starts operation at new east China cracker
China's Wanhua Chemical Group has successfully started up its 1.2-MMtpy mixed-feed cracker in east China's Shandong province and achieved on-spec production of ethylene.
In a stock exchange filing late on Thursday, the company, however, did not specify the unit's current operation rates, though two sources familiar with the matter said the cracker is running at 80%-85% for now.
Wanhua had earlier bought at least three naphtha cargoes from the Middle East totaling 132,000 tons, or more, for delivery in March and April at double-digit premiums to cost & freight Japan price quotes, multiple trade sources said.
The Yantai-based flexi-feed petrochemical cracker has the capability to use both naphtha and ethane as feedstocks, the company said.
The new cracker adds to Wanhua's existing one million ton per year ethylene plant in Yantai that started in 2020.
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