Jinzhou Petrochemical shut its 30,000 tonnes/year butadiene rubber (BR) plant over the weekend as the company's margins are being eroded by the high cost of feedstock butadiene (BD), a source close to the company said on Monday.

The plant at Jinzhou city in northeastern Liaoning province was taken off line on 18 February, the source said.

No definite restart date was set for the plant, the source said.

Jinzhou Petrochemical is a subsidiary of China's state-owned oil and gas giant PetroChina.

A number of BR producers, including China's Shanghai Gaoqiao, South Korea's LG Chem and Korea Kumho Petrochemical (KKPC), Taiwan's TSRC and Thailand's BST Elastomers, have either shut or cut operating rates at their facilities because of soaring BD prices.

Spot BD prices in Asia were assessed at $3,900-3,950/tonne (2,964-3,002/tonne) CFR (cost and freight) NE (northeast) Asia in the week ended 17 February, up by about 28% from levels at the start of the year, according to ICIS.