MOSCOW (MRC) -- Unipetrol has declared force majeure on the petrochemical production section of its Litvinov complex, in the Czech Republic, following a 13 Aug. fire at the 544,000-t/y ethylene cracker, as per GV.
The company said the occurrence and continuation of the force majeure makes it impossible for Unipetrol to fill its contractual obligations with its business partners. Rail and road access to the complex is also temporarily closed.
It was not specified when operations are expected to return to normal.
In addition to the ethylene cracker, the complex includes a polypropylene unit and two polyethylene units, having a combined capacity of 595,000 t/y.
As MRC informed previously, Unipetrol expects petrochemicals to become the largest source of revenue for the company in 2015-2017. Unipetrol wants to use the favourable market conditions to reinforce its position on the petrochemical market and optimise its operations.
Unipetrol , a.s. is a group of companies operating in the petrochemical industry in the Czech Republic. In 2005 Unipetrol became a part of the PKN ORLEN Group, the largest oil processor in Central Europe. The UNIPETROL Group is oriented mostly towards oil processing, fuel distribution and petrochemical production. In all of these business areas the Unipetrol Group is among the key players both in the Czech Republic and on the Central European market. The Group ranks among the leading firms in the Czech Republic in terms of its revenues, and employs almost 4,000 people.
MRC