Chevron Phillips Chemical has declared a force majeure for its polyethylene products, according to a letter to customers Tuesday that was obtained by Platts.
The company said in the letter that the move was caused by a "contingency event" to its ethylene production.
"We are in the process of evaluating the expected duration and will provide you with updates as more information becomes available," the letter said.
The company is the process of restarting three steam crackers at its olefins complex in Sweeny, Texas, following a power distribution system failure on Saturday, the company told the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality this week. The emission event associated with the startup process is expected to be completed by Wednesday, the company added in the TCEQ filing.
The Sweeny complex has estimated ethylene production of 1.9 million mt/year.
CPChem operates PE units at Cedar Bayou, Pasadena and Orange, Texas, and has an estimated annual capacity of 3.49 billion lbs/year for high density polyethylene, 1.87 billion lbs/year for linear low density polyethylene and 620 million lbs/year for low density polyethylene.
