Operating rates at the 640,000 mt/year propylene oxide styrene monomer LyondellBasell/Bayer JV unit in Maasvlakte, the Netherlands, have been cut due to poor downstream demand, a Bayer source said Thursday.
The source could not confirm at what production level the unit was now running.
"[Production rates were turned down] just a little -- downstream markets are a bit slow," a Bayer source said.
This production cut follows news that Styrolution partially shut down its 500,000 mt/year ethyl-benzene styrene monomer Antwerp plant. Production issues in August at the Styrolution unit have forced them to cut rates to around 50%, a company source said Tuesday.
