CPI Maintenance Turnaround Spending Surpasses $100 Million in the First Quarter of 2006

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Spending for planned maintenance turnarounds in the Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) during the first quarter of 2006 jumped sharply to nearly $107 million in comparison to the first quarter of 2005, estimated at $64 million, for CPI plants located in the United States and Canada. There are a couple of large turnarounds that represent the majority of the increase in spending, although the number of projects also increased from 27 in 2005 to 31 in 2006.

Click on image at right to view a table of CPI plant turnarounds for 1Q06.

The first quarter of the year marks the start of a traditional season of planned turnarounds that ultimately sets the stage for the second quarter where spending for maintenance turnarounds will increase substantially and turnaround activity usually doubles. Several large turnarounds are currently underway at plants located in Texas. ExxonMobil Chemical Company recently began a 40-day turnaround of their BOPX ethylene unit located in Baytown, Texas and BASF Fina Petrochemicals LP is underway on a 40-day turnaround of its ethylene unit located in Port Arthur, Texas. Both turnarounds are scheduled to be complete by early April. Geographically, Texas and Louisiana will make up nearly 80% of the total spending in the first quarter, while also representing over 53% of the turnaround activity.

Six of the turnarounds scheduled to begin in the first quarter were originally planned to begin during the third and fourth quarters of last year, but were delayed until this year. The average total investment value (TIV) for a maintenance turnaround in the CPI is $2 million for a typical plant whereas the TIV for a larger petrochemical plant complex could reach between $10 and $15 million, or even more depending on the length of time and the nature of the repairs. Planned maintenance turnarounds provide an opportunity for CPI owners to renew catalyst, replace burners, inspect process piping, improve upon safety procedures and tie-in capital projects that can not be completed while the plant is running hot. Conversely, this planned and scheduled down time provides a tremendous opportunity for vendors and suppliers to provide a large amount of services and related products over a short period of time.

Looking ahead to the second quarter of this year, IIR has already identified nearly 70 planned CPI maintenance turnarounds totaling approximately $150 million. IIR reports changes to planned start dates for each turnaround identified through its North American Industrial Project Database.

For a complete listing of future turnarounds in the CPI contact Industrial Info's Member Center at 1-800-762-3361.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a Marketing Information Service company that has been doing business for over 23 years. IIR is respected as the leader in providing comprehensive market intelligence pertaining to the industrial processing, heavy manufacturing, and energy-related industries throughout the world.