JSC Naftan’s subsidiary arm, Polymir, has stopped operations at its second production line of Low Density Polyethene (LDPE) for scheduled maintenance on October 1. The plant exhibits a production capacity of 130 thousand tonnes of LDPE per year. The outage has been planned to last 30-days.

Polymir is the largest petrochemical producer in Belarus dedicated to the manufacture of LDPE, acrylic fibre, gaseous and liquid pyrolysis products, textile auxiliaries, and industrial organic compounds. This turnaround marks the second shutdown of the company’s LDPE production facility in a year.

LDPE is a translucent thermoplastic polymer that is produced from high-pressure copolymerization of ethylene in gaseous form. Owing to its high flexibility, chemical resistance and waterproof characteristics, LDPE is widely used in food packaging and manufacturing of bottles, containers, electronics parts, medical equipment, pipes and hoses.

The global market for Low Density Polyethylene in 2020 stood at 22 million tons. The growing preference of the population for packaged foods and other household commodities backed by the greater awareness towards health and safety drives the high demand for Low Density Polyethylene market in Europe. The demand is anticipated to grow at a healthy CAGR of over 6% with the incessantly flourishing packaging industry and with the recovering construction activities.  As per ChemAnalyst, the month-long shutdown of the largest LDPE plant facility is expected to create supply pressure in the end-user industries. The impact could be observed in the form of rising Low Density Polyethylene prices in the domestic market. The supply pressure is likely to remain until the plant resumes operation.