Hurricane Isaac Disrupts Chemical Plant Operations, Leading Some to Shut Down

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As Hurricane Isaac barreled through Southeastern Louisiana, residences and businesses alike hunkered down or evacuated. History has taught them to always be prepared, especially the devastation of Hurricane Katrina seven years ago.

In preparation for Isaac's appearance, several companies in the Chemical Processing Industry (CPI), which were in the direct path of the hurricane or along flood-prone areas, took precautions and temporarily shut down their plants. The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) (Midland, Michigan) shut down it's Saint Charles plant in Taft, Louisiana, on Monday, prior to lsaac's landfall. Dow doesn't plan to restart the 1,425 million-pound-per-year hydrocarbon 1 ethylene unit until early next week. Also preemptively, Arkema Incorporated (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) ceased production and evacuated employees of its resin plant in Hahnville, Louisiana, as the storm approached them on Monday.

Many CPI plant owners have had to shut down their operations due to hurricane-related damage or flooding over the course of this week. Galata Chemicals (Hahnville, Louisiana) is inflicted with flooding, damaged windows and major roof leaks. The company is still assessing damages and continue to be without production at this time. In Shell Chemical's (The Hague, The Netherlands) plant in Norco, Louisiana, two ethylene units endured some production problems due to the hurricane. The liquid olefins cracker No. 5 (OL-5) ethylene unit was forced offline due to an issue with its process gas compressor. The other ethylene unit, GO-1S, has been running at reduced rates for the last couple of days. The chemical complex housing Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) (Saint Louis, Missouri) and Occidental Chemical (Los Angeles, California) is also currently offline.

Other plants in the area have fared much better and have been able to remain online. Momentive Specialty Chemicals (Columbus, Ohio) in Norco, Louisiana, suffered minor damages that are still be assessed. Air Liquide Industrial US LP (Houston, Texas) has two air separation plants in the area, one in Norco and the other in Hanhnville. In both plants, the phone systems are down; however, the plants are still operating. Air Products in Luling, Louisiana, has not reported any damages to the hydrogen facility and continues to operate.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.