Fina joint venture declares 'force majeure' on aromatics

31 March 1999 13:28  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (CNI)--Fina declared force majeure on aromatics Wednesday following a technical fault at its Antwerp, Belgium site which brought down the No2 cracker and downstream plants and led to a contained fire on Tuesday morning, CNI was told.

The downstream plants, which produce about 160 000 tonne/year of benzene, 80 000 tonne/year of toluene, 40 000 tonne/year of xylenes, and 90 000 tonne/year of cyclohexane, are expected to be down for at least two weeks, plant manager Eric Crispeels said. Fina operates the Antwerp site as part of a 65:45 olefins joint venture with Exxon Chemical.

Fina sent a letter to existing customers declaring force majeure on benzene, toluene, xylenes and cyclohexane, a spokesman for the company confirmed.

An electrical fault on the 375 000 tonne/year No 2 cracker forced Fina to bring down the cracker's steam system, but during the shut-down an emission of ethylene from the outlet of a safety valve caught fire, said Crispeels. The fire lasted about 15 minutes, and there were no injuries or equipment damage, he said. The entire site had to be evacuated.

The No2 cracker is expected to be restarted on Saturday (3 April) and reach full capacity on Monday, he said. However, the aromatics unit will be out of action for at least two weeks because its reactor catalyst needs to be replaced, said Crispeels. Fina had planned to replace the catalyst as part of a planned three-week turnaround in September but has decided to replace it now so it can cope with the pressure changes during the unscheduled start-up, he explained. The turnaround has been brought forward from September on a "reduced scope scenario", he added.

The No1 cracker, which has a capacity of 245 000 tonne/year, has been down for four weeks as part of a scheduled turnaround, and is being restarted today (Wednesday) - a day later than originally planned, said Crispeels.

By: Anna Williams
+44 208 652 3214

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