Some Force Majeures Scheduled This Month as Hurricane Laura Surrounds the Northern Gulf Coast

Hurricane Laura has led to a wave of plant shutdowns as the companies battled with the storm. Following is the list of certain plant shutdowns announced by the US chemicals giants as the hurricane approaches the northern Gulf Coast in the last week of August. Chevron Philips Chemicals: Declared on Sept. 1, shutdown of US Polyethylene (PE) plant; Westlake Polymers: Declared on Aug. 31 in US; Sasol: Declared on August 31 on all U.S. PE (includes all linear low density PE (LLDPE) and High Density PE (HDPE) grades);Westlake Chemical: Declared on Aug. 31 on all North American PVC and Vinyl Chloride Monomer; Ineos Olefins & Polymers USA: Declared on Aug. 26 on HDPE at 460,000 MTPA unit in La Porte; INEOS Styrolution: Declared on Aug.25 on Styrene plants in Bayport, Texas, and Texas City, Texas, according to a company source; INVISTA: Declared on Aug.25 Adiponitrile (ADN) and Hexamethylene Diamine (HMDA) plants in Orange, Texas; Declared on Aug. 25 on US Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) plants by Goodyear, Lion Elastomers and Arlanxeo plants in southeast Texas; Excel Paralubes and Motiva: Declared on Aug. 25 on Base-oils operations in Texas; Total: Declared on Aug. 25, closing its 225,500 b/d refinery in Port Arthur.