MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical is shutting down its Port Arthur, Texas cracker in preparation for Hurricane Laura, reported S&P Global with reference to sources' statement Aug. 26.
The unit's capacity of 855,000 mt/year, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics data.
Chevron Phillips is also shutting down its Cedar Bayou, Texas, crackers ahead of the storm, sources said.
The company's Cedar Bayou crackers 1 and 2 have capacities of 837,000 mt/year and 1.7 million mt/year, respectively, according to Platts Analytics data.
Chevron Phillips was not immediately available for comment Aug. 26, but said in a filing Aug. 25 with the Community Awareness Emergency Response online system there will be flaring at the Baytown facility.
Chevron Phillips' Cedar Bayou site was inundated with up to eight feet of water when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Beaumont, and Port Arthur in late August and early September 2017. The National Weather Service expects significant storm surges along the southeastern Texas and southwest Louisiana coasts with Hurricane Laura as well, prompting operators to shut even if they are not in the storm's direct path.
"Better safe than sorry. They're probably going to lose power, so it's better to shut down, and then they can restart quickly," said Rob Stier, senior lead for S&P Global Platts Analytics.
ExxonMobil is reducing operating rates at its Baytown, Texas, crackers in preparation for Hurricane Laura, sources said.
The company has three crackers at its Baytown facility with capacities totaling more than 3.7 million mt/year, according to Platts Analytics data.
ExxonMobil was not immediately available for comment Aug. 26, but said in a CAER filing Aug. 25 that there will be flaring at its facility in preparation for the coming severe weather.
As MRC informed earlier, on 18 August, 2020, Chevron Corp reported a fire at its 112,229-barrel-per-day (bpd) Pasadena, Texas facility. "At this time, flames, smoke may be noticeable to the community. We are coordinating with local officials, and working to resolve the issue as soon as possible," the company reported on August, 19.
We remind that US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
MRC