Second person dies after Williams plant explosion in Louisiana

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A second worker has died from an explosion at a Williams Partners gas plant in Geismar, La, reported Tulsa World.

Scott Thrower, 47, of St. Amant, La. died from injuries sustained in Thursday morning’s explosion, a Louisiana State Police spokesman said. Thrower was admitted to the hospital Thursday with severe burns from the explosion at the natural gas products plan, owned by Tulsa-based Williams Partners.

Williams president and CEO Alan Armstrong and Geismar plant manager Larry Bayer held a press conference Friday near the site of the explosion and said that they are still unsure what caused the deadly explosion and massive fire at the natural gas liquids processing facility.

Two of those workers are Williams employees and the other four are contracted employees. The rest of the 77 people injured in the blast have been treated and released.

Plant technician and Williams employee Zachary Green, 29, died in the blast and Armstrong and Bayer said they have reached out to Green’s family. All 839 employees working at the plant at the time are accounted for.

The explosion occurred in the plant’s prophylene fractionation area, Bayer said. Williams still hasn’t been allowed back into the area to investigate the exact cause of the explosion.

As MRC reported earlier, there were no early detections of dangerous levels of VOC - that's volatile organic compound - but out of an abundance of caution both the company and the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) were doing testing not only at the plant site but miles away from the plant site following the direction of the plume.

The Geismar, La. plant is a natural gas liquids cracker that processes olefins used in the petrochemical industry. Williams Partners produces approximately 1.3 billion pounds of ethylene and 90 million pounds of polymer grade prophylene from the plant.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chinese Yisheng Petrochemical has shut a purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant owing to weak demand conditions, said Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the plant was shut on June 13, 2013. The specific duration of the closure could not be ascertained. Located in Hainan province, China, the plant has a production capacity of 2 million mt/year.

As MRC informed earlier, Yisheng Petrochemicals' new 2 mln tpa plant in Hainan started up in the end 2012. The Chinese company has completed its machinery purchases for the new plant, as per Platts. Two machine trains with PTA capacity of 1 mln tpa has been sourced from Germany's MAN Turbo. Each train comprises an air compressor, a steam turbine, an expander and a motor/generator.

Yisheng Petrochemical is jointly owned by polyester giants Zhejiang Hengyi Group and Zhejiang RongSheng Group.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP (Chevron Phillips Chemical) announced it will expand its ethylene production by 200 million pounds by adding a tenth furnace to ethylene unit 33 at its Sweeny complex in Old Ocean, Texas, said the producer.

The Company recently received consent to begin construction from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The new furnace will achieve lower emissions and incorporate Best Available Control Technology (BACT). Construction is targeted to commence within the next quarter, with an anticipated startup in 2014.

"This furnace addition will provide additional ethylene supply to meet the growing global demand to better serve our customers and provide additional supply prior to starting up our proposed U.S. Gulf Coast Petrochemicals Project in 2017," said Dave Smith, olefins & natural gas liquids vice president for Chevron Phillips Chemical. Chevron Phillips Chemical’s U.S. Gulf Coast Petrochemicals Project continues to be on track to build an ethane cracker at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas and two polyethylene units in Old Ocean.

While the additional furnace will not add to the nameplate capacity of the facility, the increased operating factor should result in net increase of 200 million pounds of ethylene availability to provide additional operational flexibility and reliability.

The Sweeny complex is one of the world’s largest single-site ethylene facilities and is capable of producing greater than 11 million pounds of ethylene per day, or roughly 4.1 billion pounds annually. "This project and the proposed addition of the adjacent polyethylene units emphasize the importance of Sweeny in the company’s portfolio," said Wayne McDowell, Sweeny complex manager. "We are thrilled to produce quality products safely and reliably on an even larger scale."

As MRC wrote before, Chevron Phillips Chemical Co.is exploring ways to expand in the Middle East, including building a new plant. The U.S. partnership would consider setting up a site on its own or in a joint venture, and the "entire" region is under consideration.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Federal and state authorities have filed a joint lawsuit against ExxonMobil over the March spill of thousands of barrels of heavy crude into a residential neighbourhood in Arkansas, said Upstreamonline.

The US Justice Department said it is seeking civil penalties under federal law against the supermajor related to the spill of some 5000 barrels of oil, which occurred when the 95,000-barrel-per-day Pegasus line ruptured months ago.

The State of Arkansas is also seeking civil penalties for alleged violations of state pollution laws.

Clean-up has continued and the Pegasus line has been shut since the major spill in late March, when heavy oil spewed into the lawns and driveways of 22 homes in the suburban town of Mayflower, forcing evacuations.

Arkansas is also awaiting judgement on ExxonMobil's liability for damages related to the spill.

An ExxonMobil spokesman told that the company has not been formally served with the lawsuit and had net yet reviewed the allegations.

Some residents have sued the company as well.

Pipeline regulators recently granted ExxonMobil time to conduct a second round of testing on the ruptured portion of the nearly 70-year-old line to determine what caused the malfunction. The pipeline runs from Illinois to Texas.

The spill occurred near Lake Conway, a popular recreational area. The oil killed dozens of birds mammals and reptiles, and hundreds more were captured and cleaned of oil.

Mayflower is located about 25 miles north-west of Little Rock, the state capital.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3 percent of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant reveals the first of the new product innovations and service enhancements integral to its solutions for the plastics industry, said the producer in its press-release.

Solutions will be firmly focused on supporting efforts by the plastics and coatings sector to achieve greater cost-efficiency, improved environmental performance, and product differentiation, including: AddWorks, the new branding for Clariant's polymer additives.

Solutions for engineering plastics. With a stable and reliable supply of its montan waxes and flame retardants ensured, Clariant offers outstanding performance for demanding plastics applications.

The new AddWorks polymer additives will further contribute to expanding the features of engineering plastics in terms of polymer protection, process stabilization, productivity improvement or energy savings, and will be specifically designed according to the technical and economical requirements of the different segments.

Clariant brings liquid masterbatches to life at K 2013 with a new integrated system designed to enhance product properties and process parameters for its customers and fulfill their international service needs. Its new integrated liquid masterbatches system further extends Clariant's developed applications for different processing environments and different polymer requirements which have been achieved over the last few years.

Clariant's Liquid Masterbatches carrier technologies are designed for a variety of different polymer and production processes and, together with Liquid Masterbatches dosing - and handling – systems, provide the flexible way to advance plastics.

As MRC wrote earlier, Clariant Mining is going to upgrade to significantly larger laboratory facilities filled with state-of-the-art equipment when Clariant Oil & Mining Services moves into its new global headquarters. The new company's headquarters are scheduled for completion in The Woodlands, Texas, in fall 2013.

Clariant is a Swiss speciality chemicals company. Clariant's largest business units make functional chemicals such as biocides, industrial ingredients, and detergents as well as chemicals and dyes for textiles, leather, and paper. Clariant's other segments make pigments for inks, paints, and plastics and masterbatches, which are highly concentrated additives for plastics and textiles. It is also among the leading manufacturers of de-icing agents and fire retardants, and chemicals used in the oil & gas and mining industries. Active in 150 countries on five continents, Clariant is now focusing on its fast-growing fine and specialty chemicals and on expanding operations in Asia.
MRC