Equate completes polyethylene expansion

Kuwait City, June 15, 2009

Kuwait's petrochemicals firm Equate has completed the start-up of its polyethylene expansion project, it said on Monday.

The project will increase its overall production capacity to 825,000 tonnes annually of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) resins, the firm said in a statement.

Equate is largely owned by Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC) and US partner Dow Chemical.

The start-up of the plant could pressure petrochemical margins in Asia, traders said.

"Additional plastic supplies from the Middle East targeting China could cause petrochemical margins to fall," a Singapore-based trader said.

"This could lead to cracker run cuts in Northeast Asia in the short term, as the Middle East uses gas feedstock which is sharply lower than naphtha." - Reuters

Tags: Equate | Polyethylene |