US chemical companies with significant operations in the Louisiana city that bore the brunt of Hurricane Laura's fury were launching damage assessments on Aug. 27.
All those units except the smaller cracker were part of a $12.9 billion expansion, with the LDPE plant the last of the new facilities to come online.
LyondellBasell shut its 400,000 mt/year and 1 million mt/year polypropylene plants in Lake Charles ahead of the storm's arrival, and spokeswoman Chevalier Gray said in an email Aug. 27 that the company was assessing "limited" damage at the site.
"There are widespread power outages in the Lake Charles area," she said. "We are assessing limited damage to the site, but the extent is unknown at this time. A full site assessment will be performed by the recovery crew when it is safe to do so."
Westlake Chemical was also "conducting equipment assessments today following Hurricane Laura's overnight move through the area," spokesman Chip Swearngan said in an email Aug. 27.
Westlake's Lake Charles complex -- which was shut down ahead of the storm's arrival -- includes three chlor-alkali plants, combined capacity of 1.27 million mt/year of chlorine and 1.36 million mt/year of caustic soda; two vinyl chloride monomer plants, combined capacity of 952,543 mt/year; two crackers, combined capacity of 1.19 million mt/year; 200,000 mt/year of LLDPE capacity; 60,000 mt/year high density PE/LLDPE operation; 386,000 mt/year of LDPE capacity; 258,547 mt/year of styrene capacity.
A week to restart?
A market source noted that companies typically assess damage once storms pass, "so I don't think they can restore that quick."
The source noted that crackers may need up to a week to restart, while downstream derivative plants can resume output within two to three days of a shutdown.
Dow Chemical and Chevron Phillips Chemical did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Aug. 27, but both shut facilities in Orange, Texas, in the far southeast part of the state, ahead of the storm's arrival.
Orange, as well as nearby Port Arthur, also home to Motiva Enterprises' 635,000 mt/year cracker shut ahead of the storm, sustained downed trees, building damage and power outages, according to emergency management officials.
Dow operates a 882,000-mt/year cracker and a 236,000-mt/year high density polyethylene plant in Orange, while CP Chem operates a 420,000-mt/year HDPE plant there.
After Hurricane Harvey drowned southeast Texas in September 2017 with unprecedented rainfall, causing widespread petrochemical outages, many plants were undamaged, but took up to a week or more to restart because they lacked power.
Operations closer to Houston saw expected faster restarts, as the hurricane's eastward movement minimized impacts to facilities along the Houston Ship Channel. However, downstream unit restarts can depend on whether feedstocks are readily available.
Amber Olah, spokeswoman for Baystar Polymers -- a joint venture of Borealis and Total -- said the company aimed to restart its 400,000 mt/year HDPE plant at Bayport near the mouth of the channel, on Aug. 28. She said the unit was not affected by the storm, though other plants were affected "and we are assessing utilities and feedstock situation now."
