A force majeure declared earlier this month on low density polyethylene products from Total's Carling site in northeast France site has not impacted European LDPE prices, according to a number of industry sources.
"Force majeure was declared, but it was on smaller [volume] medical grades," a source said Wednesday.
Despite the force majeure, European LDPE prices have remained relatively stable over recent weeks amid the typical summer lull in demand.
LDPE spot prices were assessed Tuesday at Eur1,200/mt ($1,416/mt) FD NWE, flat since the beginning of the month.
According to German news website Kunststoff Information, LDPE production at Total's Carling facility was stopped on August 12 after a problem with one of the sites reactors occurred.
Total did not specify how long the production stoppage would last.
As reported by S&P Global Platts, Total inaugurated its revamped Carling Saint-Avold petrochemical complex in May of this year following three years of upgrade works.
Among other upgrades the site's polyethylene unit was upgraded to deliver advanced plastics (eg, healthcare market).
