Petrochemical operations mostly resuming in TX, US after Hurricane Beryl

According to industry sources, most oil and petrochemical companies in Texas, US have either resumed operations or have been in restart process after Hurricane Beryl hit the state earlier this week. While some facilities were damaged and power was not fully restored, the overall impact on oil and petrochemical production was expected to be limited.

Beryl made landfall near Matagorda on Monday, prompting energy firms to shut operations and Texas’ largest ports to close. By Tuesday, some ports reopened and most producers were increasing output, although power restoration to homes, businesses, and industrial customers remained slow.

AccuWeather estimated $28 billion to $32 billion in total damage and economic loss from the hurricane. Over 1.8 million customers were still without power late Tuesday, including 1.4 million served by CenterPoint Energy, the local provider of the region.

Dow Chemicals shut operations at its Seadrift PE site prior to Hurricane Beryl on July 7. Restart process started on July 9. The company has approximately 1 million tons/year of total PE capacity in Seadrift.

Braskem halted operations at La Porte PP units before the hurricane. Restart process started in late July 9. The company houses more than 800,000 tons/year of PP capacity in the location.

Ineos shut PP, PE units at Texas before Hurricane Beryl on July 7. Operational assessments were still underway as of July 8. The company’s PP capacity in Texas is near 600,000 tons/year while total PE capacity is approximately 1 million tons/year.

SHINTECH shut its Freeport, Texas, PVC plant due to strong coastal winds from Hurricane Beryl. No major damage was reported after inspection. The company aims to restart the 1.45 million tons/year PVC plant soon.

LyondellBasell shut Matagorda HDPE unit as a precaution to Hurricane Beryl on July 7. No other details were available at the time of writing.

Formosa Chemicals restarted its Point Comfort cracker and PP, PE, PVC units as of July 10. The company shut the complex ahead of Hurricane Beryl as a precaution and started the restart process on July 9 after experiencing no damage.

Bayport Polymers (Baystar) was reportedly operating two of three HDPE units at its Bayport, Texas PE plant. The plant’s total capacity is around 1 million tons/year.

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