Today's Chemical Processing Hotline Headlines

North America
Dow Chemical continues to rebuild the approximately 465 million-pound-per-year Glycol 2 (ethylene glycol) unit in Plaquemine, Louisiana. The unit was forced to shut down on July 14, 2023, due to an explosion and subsequent fires. Current expectations are to restart the unit in June.

International
Braskem, on May 1, was forced to shut down units at two of its plants in Triunfo, Brazil, as floods originated by heavy rain have affected plant operations. Although the facility has not been damaged, authorities decided to shut down the complex as a preventive measure. There is not a reactivation date yet, but activities are expected to resume as soon as the general conditions improve--which may take place closer to the end of May. IIR will continue to monitor the status and update accordingly.

Total Petrochemicals France is performing a planned minor maintenance turnaround of its 1,148 million-pound-per-year steam cracker (ethylene) unit at its Gonfreville Petrochemical Plant in France. The approximately four-week maintenance kicked off on May 3.

SABIC Europe is performing a planned three-month maintenance turnaround that includes the 661 million-pound-per-year polypropylene (PPF 3), 661 million-pound-per-year polypropylene (PPF 6) and 705 million-pound-per-year polyethylene resins units at its Chemelot-Geleen Chemical Complex in the Netherlands. The turnaround kicked off in mid-April.

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