Neftekhim’s Polypropylene Plant Goes Off-Stream for Turnaround, Prices to Rise

Kazakhstan’s sole polypropylene producing company, Neftekhim Limited, announced the shut down of its polypropylene facility for maintenance purposes on September 27 without any intimation of its resumption date. 

Neftekhim exhibits an annual production capacity of 45000 tonnes for polypropylene. The outage in the Neftekhim’s polypropylene facility that will commence with 28-days long repairing activities is expected to extend to a higher time period.

Polypropylene is a thermoplastic polymer produced from the chain-growth polymerization of propylene monomer. It is the most widely used commercial plastic due to its wear and tear resistance, waterproof quality, chemical resistance, colour fastness, lightweight and flexibility. Its applications are largely distributed in the areas of food and consumer products packaging, medical bags and tubing, textile, automobile components.

The global market for polypropylene in 2020 was valued to be USD 117.8 billion. The increasing consumer preference for lightweight vehicles and the growing use of polypropylene in raffia plastic, films and sheets remain the major drivers for its high global demand which is expected to rise with a CAGR of over 3% in the upcoming years. As per ChemAnalyst, the shutdown of the sole polypropylene producer in Kazakhstan for over a month is expected to heavily impact the polypropylene supplies in the country.

Polypropylene imports will remain the only source for meeting the demand in the end-user industries, a scenario that is bound to elevate the prices of polypropylene. The supply pressure in the domestic polypropylene market is expected to stay until the plant resumes operation.