MOSCOW (MRC) -- A fire at Westlake Chemical’s Petro 1 Unit in Lake Charles, Louisiana was reported on 25 June, 2021, according to KPLC News with reference to company officials' statement.
The fire has been quickly contained. The fire brigade has extinguished 90% of the fire, said Joe Andrepont, spokesperson for Westlake Chemical.
Everyone in the unit has been accounted for and no injuries have been reported, Andrepont said. US petrochemical producer is still working to account for workers in other areas.
There is currently no off-site impact, according to Dick Gremillion, head of Calcasieu Parish head of Emergency Preparedness.
“t was no chemical release - it was a lube oil fire from one of the actual compressor decks,” said Derek Senegal, spokesperson for Louisiana State Police. “The fire, smoke, whatever you saw, that was just from the flares from that particular section they isolated.”
As MRC informed earlier, the company conducted a scheduled turnaround at Petro 1 steam cracker from 19 April, 2016, to mid-July 2016. The company operates two steam crackers at the site - Petro-1, with current ethylene capacity of 660,000 m tpa, and Petro-2, with 886,000 m tpa.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
Westlake Chemical Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, chlor-alkali and derivative products, PVC suspension and specialty resins, PVC Compounds, and PVC building products including siding, pipe, fittings and specialty components, windows, fence, deck and film.
MRC