Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical, a subsidiary of China's state-controlled Sinopec, shut its No.2 naphtha-fed cracker at the old zone of Jinshan industrial park following a pipeline fire in the morning of 29 May.
Eight people were injured by the fire, which broke out at pipelines connected to the cracker and took three hours to put out.
The No.2 cracker, with 400,000 t/yr of ethylene and 200,000 t/yr of propylene capacity, was in its restarting process following a major turnaround that began in mid-April.
Damages to the facility are not severe, according to Sinopec Shanghai. But the cracker's restart will now be subject to government approval following thorough safety investigations.
Sinopec Shanghai already restarted some integrated downstream units a week earlier, including its 380,000 t/yr ethylene glycol, a 250,000 t/yr high-density polyethylene and 200,000 t/yr polypropylene lines. But the cracker incident paused production at these units again yesterday, hence the potential impact of any ethylene and propylene supply shortage is limited for now.
Sinopec Shanghai's No.1 cracker, with 300,000 t/yr of ethylene and 150,000 t/yr of propylene capacity, at the new zone of Jinshan industrial park is running well after completing a 20-day turnaround on 12 May.
