US spot ethylene slipped 0.25 cent/lb for the week, assessed Friday at 35.5-36 cents/lb FD USG for front-month delivery and down 0.25 cent at 35.5-36 cents/lb FD USG for June. Sources cited successful restarts at two US Gulf Coast producers as the reasons behind the marginally weaker markets. Dow Chemical was restarting its St. Charles light hydrocarbon cracking unit at its Taft, Louisiana, complex, market sources said Monday. The cracker (Taft-1) ethylene production capacity is estimated at 635,000 mt/year. It was brought down for scheduled maintenance the week of March 15, sources said. The startup was to be completed on May 18, sources added. Flint Hills Resources suffered a production outage at its Port Arthur, Texas, light olefins unit early Monday, a company filing with state regulators showed Tuesday. “In response to the leak located on the high pressure steam line, FHR intends to bring the LOU to minimum production rates prior to shutting down and de-pressurizing necessary equipment for maintenance,” the company said in a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
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