Borealis lifts force majeure at Swedish steam cracker

New York — Austria-based petrochemical producer Borealis has lifted force majeure on operations at its Stenungsund steam cracker in Sweden, the company told S&P Global Platts Thursday.

"The FM on operations of our steam cracker in Stenungsund, Sweden, was lifted on April 19, 2020. We also returned to normal operations on this date and informed affected customers accordingly," a Borealis spokesperson said.

The company declared FM on April 8 due to a technical incident, while before that Borealis had had lowered its steam cracker operating rates as a result of the recent slump in oil prices and the coronavirus lockdowns in Europe.

"Our steam crackers are ...operating at reduced rates due to the COVID-19 impact as overall demand is lower," Borealis said in early April, without giving further details.

Borealis' cracker in Stenungsund can produce 625,000 mt a year of ethylene. The company's other cracker in Porvoo, Finland, can produce 400,000 mt/year of ethylene. Both crackers are able to process a mix of feedstocks including liquids, LPG and ethane.