Lyondell And BASF Shut Ethylene Plants

LyondellBasell Industries will permanently close its olefins cracker in Chocolate Bayou, Texas, by the beginning of August. The plant has been idle since mid-December. The company, which filed for bankruptcy in the U.S., says its other six U.S. crackers are sufficient to meet its needs. In Germany, meanwhile, BASF will idle the smaller of the two crackers at its Ludwigshafen complex for at least three months. The firm says that five production lines are already idle at the complex and that 60 other lines are operating at very low rates. It also warns that it may have to resort to cutbacks in employee workhours at the site.