COMPANY NEWS

Asia’s ACN capacity rose to around 3.8m tonnes/year by the end of 2013. Most ACN plants in Asia were running at operating rates of 70-80% because of weak demand and the economic slowdown in 2013, which forced some plants to shut down or reduce operating rates due to economic issues. South Korea’s Tongsuh Petrochemical shut its No 3 ACN line with a capacity of 245,000 tonnes/year in Ulsan late December for maintenance, which will last until mid-January, a company source said. South Korea’s Taekwang Petrochemical plans to shut its 290,000 tonne/year CAN plant in Ulsan in February for a three-week turnaround, a company source said. Most market participants said Asian ACN prices will likely rise to above $2,000/tonne in Q1, but prices in Q2 may soften after the completion of these turnarounds. Acetonitrile is the byproduct of ACN. Thus, the decrease of ACN productivity leads to the decrease of acetonitrile supply, which makes the price of acetonitrile keep rising this year.