hurricane laura caused widespread power outages in louisiana, texas and arkansas, affecting more than 600,000 people. the hurricane previously damaged a main rail line and shut n several petrochemical plants and refineries.
major companies are assessing the damage to their factories and restarting those not affected by the wind.
hurricane laura made landfall in louisiana near the texas border early thursday. laura has a force 4 wind, with maximum sustained winds of 150mph (about 240km/h).
the national hurricane center said in a recent advisory that laura has weakened to a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph (about 45 km/h). as of 400 cst (900 gmt), laura was 95 miles (155 kilometers) west-northwest of memphis, tennessee.
the center said multiple tornadoes could develop later in the day. on saturday, the storm will bring 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) of rain.
several communities along the gulf coast experienced power outages as the storm moved toward the atlantic ocean.
the table compares the number of outages on thursday night and friday morning.
source: poweroutage.us
whether various chemical companies can restart their factories depends in part on the restoration of power.
logistics
the union pacific railroad said it has ceased operations on its mainline and industry-leading railroads around lake charles, louisiana. the railroads suffered heavy damage from the storm and the company has issued a shutn order.
last thursday, the company reopened the rail yard in houston. these stations have not been damaged. the company plans to open its intermodal terminal in avondale, la., on friday, as well as its intermodal stations in settgast and englewood in houston.
norfolk southern said the new orleans flood control authority has opened floodgates on seabrook and florida avenues. the company has thus been able to open the oliver station and resume operations at the chalmette branch.
the company is returning rail cars to these vacated yards.
delays of 24-48 hours are expected for railcars bound for new orleans yards.
while the new orleans flood control authority has opened two flood gates, the new orleans west carrier’s gate remains closed, the company said.
the union pacific railroad and others have rerouted traffic as needed.
csx said that laura caused little damage to it and that the company will resume normal operations in new orleans. delays are still possible at the new orleans and memphis crossings due to outages on connecting railroads.
numerous previously closed ports in the gulf of mexico have reopened, or reopened with conditions.
the louisiana offshore oil port has suspended marine terminal operations, but clovelly hub deliveries remain normal.
louisiana offshore oil port is an offshore oil terminal, 20 miles from the coast, and is the only port in the united states capable of loading giant tankers.
petrochemical plant
chemical said laura caused no major damage to its plants in the u.s. gulf coast region.
said operations at its deer park, la porte, bayport and texas city plants should resume on tuesday. the hurricane caused minor damage to its sabine river and beaumont plants. factories will restart as infrastructure allows.
several of the company’s plants in freeport, texas, and louisiana continued to operate normally during the hurricane.
as a precautionary measure, chemical closed its plants in sabine river, beaumont, deer park, la porte, bayport and texas city, texas.
westlake chemical said it had limited damage to its plant near lake charles, louisiana. the city of lake charles is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from where laura made landfall. the ability to restart factories depends on the availability of electricity, industrial gases and other raw materials.
lyondellbasell said there was limited damage to its polypropylene plant in lake charles.
on august 25, the company closed the plant as it prepared for the arrival of the hurricane.
sasol chemical said its plant in lake charles was without power and production had ceased.
exxonmobil said it was restarting its refinery and chemical plant in beaumont, texas, 70 miles northwest of where the hurricane made landfall.
motiva said there was minimal damage to its cracker, refinery and terminal in port arthur, texas. the company is preparing to resume operations as soon as it is safe to do so.
port arthur is near beaumont.
chevron said it was about to start up its fluid catalytic cracking unit in pasadena, texas. pasadena, which borders houston, was barely affected by the hurricane.
tpc group said it was about to restart its butadiene plant in houston.
ineos will activate the cracker at chocolate bay. chocolate bay was farther from where the hurricane made landfall.
not all installations are immune to laura’s influence. a chlorine leak and fire occurred at biolab’s westlake, louisiana, facility on thursday.
the plant produces trichloroisocyanuric acid, chlorinated granules and other specialty chemicals.
biolab is owned by kik custom products, which acquired chemtura’s pool and spa chemicals business in 2014.
after the hurricane landed, 16% of the ethylene plants in the united states were shut n, 11% of the propylene plants were shut n, 18% of the polyethylene plants were shut n, 26% of the polypropylene plants were shut n, and 46% of the styrene-butadiene rubber plants were shut n. the device shuts n.
