It closes on August 18 with offers valid for two days. CPC has also issued a tender to buy low sulphur fuel oil for delivery in the second half of September. The tender closes on August 17 and offers are valid for two days. A ministry official said that ethylene production last month amounted to 607,900 tonnes. Japan's production of ethylene, which had enjoyed steady growth over the past four years, has slowed this year due to the Financial crisis in Asia which has cut demand for ethylene-derived products.
Ethylene is processed into a wide range of petrochemical products from car tyres to plastic bags.
The spokesman said no specific crude unit has been targetted for shut down which gives Shell the flexibility to choose whichunits to run. EGPC said natural gas sales went up slightly to 1.35 billion cubic feet a day from 1.28 billion cubic feet in June. The rise highlights the government's increasing dependence on gas for industrial and domestic use. Natural gas sales figures are slightly lower than production figures as producing firms use part of it to operate their facilities, an EGPC official said. Condensates output rose to 40,000 bpd in July from 38,000 bpd in June.