UPDATE 1-M'bishi Chem shuts naphtha cracker due to problem

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TOKYO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Chemical Corp, Japan's top petrochemical maker, said it had shut the No.2 naphtha cracker at its Kashima plant in eastern Japan earlier on Tuesday due to an unplanned problem.

Operations were halted for safety reasons for repairs after an unspecified problem was found in the facility, a company spokesman said.

He said no order from local governments to suspend operations had been issued so far.

The No.2 unit, which has the capacity to produce 516,000 tonnes of ethylene per year, had been restarted on Aug. 22 after planned maintenance.

A spokesman for Mitsubishi Chemical, a unit of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp (4188.T), said the company does not know when it can restart the unit, but added that the shutdown may not be that long.

Late last month, the company planned to cut runs of its three naphtha crackers to 80-85 percent of capacity from Sept. 1 until the end of December, reflecting weaker demand for petrochemical products. [ID:nT37565]

The No.2 naphtha cracker was damaged by a fire in December, and the company had been running at a reduced capacity as two furnaces damaged by the fire are still inoperable. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori)