The US spot ethylene market was at a standstill Thursday on news of an explosion and fire at Williams' olefins complex in Louisiana that killed one person earlier in the day, market sources said.
Sellers pulled all material Thursday morning upon learning of the explosion and were assessing the impact on the market before extending new offers, sources said.
Meanwhile, bids for June material were climbing, seen on the Houston Mercantile Exchange as high as 57 cents/lb Mont Belvieu-Williams basis, up from 53-cent/lb levels earlier in the day.
Spot ethylene was last assessed Wednesday at 52.75-53.25 cents/lb FD USG.
"There are no pounds to buy," a market source said. "I think we can expect a spike in the ethylene price."
A downstream styrene producer said it was possible the spot ethylene prices could rise by 10-15 cents/lb over pre-incident prices.
An explosion rocked the Williams olefins complex in Geismar at 8:37 a.m. CDT (1337 GMT) Thursday, the company said in a statement. The ensuing fire produced thick black smoke that could be seen for miles, local media reported.
Louisiana State Police said Thursday afternoon that one person had died from injuries sustained in the accident.
In an earlier statement, Williams said the number of injured was unknown. Acadian Ambulance said on its Twitter feed that it had transported 60 people from the facility -- 13 by air -- but did not give any information about the severity or nature of the injuries.
"We are currently focused on the safety and well-being of our employees, contractors and the local community who are responding to the situation. Emergency shut-down valves have been closed," the company said. "The unit is isolated."
Emergency response crews were on the scene and a shelter-in-place order was in effect for residents of nearby St. Gabriel, according to the various media reports. Routes to the plant were closed off by local authorities, the company said.
The Williams olefins complex can produce up to 590,000 mt/year of ethylene and 41,000 mt/year of polymer-grade propylene.
The company said during it's first quarter conference call that the steam cracker was set to undergo a 50-day turnaround beginning in the second half of August.
