Formosa Plastics USA has declared force majeure on chlor-alkali products because of impacts of a historic deep freeze that has enveloped the petrochemical-heavy US Gulf Coast, according to a customer letter seen by S&P Global Platts.
"As weather is beyond our reasonable control, we are aware that its impacts include, but are not limited to, hindering our ability to access transportation services," the letter, dated Feb. 17, said. "We are currently evaluating the impact on our production and logistics capabilities" and will update customers, carriers, and partners.
Formosa already had declared force majeure on US polyethylene and polypropylene.
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The company's complexes in Texas and Louisiana were shut in response to the most recent winter storm, which has knocked out power along much of the US Gulf Coast where infrastructure is not built to withstand sustained sub-freezing temperatures. Running water also was unavailable in much of the region, with water plants facing power outages.
Formosa began shutting down its Point Comfort, Texas, complex Feb. 13 before below-freezing temperatures hit the region the afternoon of Feb. 14.
Point Comfort is home to three crackers with a cumulative capacity of 2.76 million mt/year; 875,000 mt/year of high-density polyethylene; 400,000 mt/year of low-density PE; 465,000 mt/year of linear low-density PE; two PP units with a combined capacity of 1.7 million mt/year; 798,000 mt/year of construction staple polyvinyl chloride; 1 million mt/year of caustic soda and 910,000 mt/year of chlorine; 753,000 mt/year of vinyl chloride monomer, and 1.478 million mt/year of ethylene dichloride, both precursors to PVC; and a cumulative 1.17 million mt/year of monoethylene glycol operated by sister company Nan Ya Plastics.
The chlor-alkali force majeure did not extend to downstream EDC, VCM, or PVC.
The company's Baton Rouge, Louisiana, facility, which has a 513,000 mt/year PVC plant and an upstream 653,000 mt/year VCM unit, also was shut Feb. 18. A source familiar with company operations said Formosa was working to restart that complex, which receives EDC from Point Comfort.
Formosa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The deep freeze has prompted numerous companies to shut down facilities and declare force majeure amid power outages and uncertainty of when power and logistics would be restored.
