Kayan says maintenance shutdown to cost SAR 402 mln

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. said activity at some ​of its ​production units will be temporarily suspended for planned maintenance.

Routine maintenance activities will start in the olefins unit on Sunday through almost five weeks, according to its statement to Tadawul, Saudi Arabia’s bourse.

Kayan’s plants will continue their normal operating rates. However, the glycol ethylene unit would cut production by 10 percent. The capacities of the low and high-density polyethylene plants will be reduced by 3 and 30 percent, respectively.

The company will work on mitigating the impact of the shutdowns by making use of available stock and its network with other affiliates of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) in Jubail Industrial City.

The financial impact of the unit suspension, expected to near SAR 62 million in average, would affect the company’s profit for the first quarter of 2015.

In addition, the ethylene glycol and ethylene oxide plant will be also closed for scheduled maintenance for 60 days from October 1, 2015. The polycarbonates unit will be suspended for 75 days, the amines plant for 65 days, and ethoxylates plant for 61 days as their production depends on ethylene oxide.

Kayan will incur about SAR 340 million on the closure of these units. The financial impact will appear in the company’s figures for the fourth quarter of 2015.