Chinese purified terephthalic acid producers BP and Hengli have deferred the startup of their new PTA plants to 2015 from the fourth quarter this year, amid negative PTA margins, sources close to the company said Friday. The startup of BP Zhuhai Chemical's new 1.5 million mt/year PTA plant in Zhuhai, southern Guangdong province is now deferred to 2015 from Q4 2014, sources said.
Jiangsu Hengli's new 2.2 million mt/year PTA plant in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning province, has also been deferred from Q4 2014, with startup now scheduled for 2015.
Asian PTA producers have been incurring negative margins over the last few years mainly because of high paraxylene feedstock costs. The Asian PTA margin fell to its second-record low of minus $108.41/mt on December 18, 2013, Platts data showed.
