A Chlor-Alkali Producer in the United States Declares Force Majeure at One of its Plants after Hurricane
2024-7-15
On July 10th, American chlor-alkali producer Olin Corporation announced that its factory in Freeport, Texas experienced Force Majeure (FM) following significant losses caused by Hurricane Berrier.
According to Olin, the company now faces difficulties in obtaining electricity, raw materials, feedstocks, and other critical services, which poses challenges to logistics and production management. The company is undergoing a comprehensive inspection and evaluation of its facilities, without timetable to end the power outage.
In addition to caustic soda and chlorine, the plant also produces several other derivative products. The company sells spot ethylene dichloride (EDC) from free ports to overseas ethylene producers, epoxy resin, and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), which are supplied directly to new technologies through pipelines.
Shintech has acquired VCM from Olin under a contract to support its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) factory located in Freeport, which produces approximately 1.45 million tons of PVC annually. Shintech stated earlier this week that its facilities have not suffered any significant damage after the storm, and plans to restart operations as soon as possible.
Olin¡äs force majeure may hinder the operation of Nippon Steel Free Port, lacking a timetable for its own restart and response to requests for comment there.
Olin also supplies chlorine directly to Dow Chemical through pipelines to operate Dow¡äs isocyanate plant in Freeport.
According to Olin, the company now faces difficulties in obtaining electricity, raw materials, feedstocks, and other critical services, which poses challenges to logistics and production management. The company is undergoing a comprehensive inspection and evaluation of its facilities, without timetable to end the power outage.
In addition to caustic soda and chlorine, the plant also produces several other derivative products. The company sells spot ethylene dichloride (EDC) from free ports to overseas ethylene producers, epoxy resin, and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), which are supplied directly to new technologies through pipelines.
Shintech has acquired VCM from Olin under a contract to support its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) factory located in Freeport, which produces approximately 1.45 million tons of PVC annually. Shintech stated earlier this week that its facilities have not suffered any significant damage after the storm, and plans to restart operations as soon as possible.
Olin¡äs force majeure may hinder the operation of Nippon Steel Free Port, lacking a timetable for its own restart and response to requests for comment there.
Olin also supplies chlorine directly to Dow Chemical through pipelines to operate Dow¡äs isocyanate plant in Freeport.