LyondellBasell to restart La Porte cracker in Texas over weekend

18 February 2011 16:54  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--LyondellBasell expects to restart its La Porte cracker in Texas over the weekend, its chief executive said on Friday.

The company shut down the 789,000 tonne/year cracker on 16 February after a loss of steam.

The cracker had been running at reduced rates following an early February fire at feedstock supplier Enterprise Products’s natural gas liquids (NGL) plant in Mont Belvieu, Texas.

LyondellBasell CEO Jim Gallogly said the company was able to get feedstock ethane into La Porte soon after the fire, though at reduced rates.

The problem, he said, was acquiring propane supply.

“But we think we’ve found a way around that,” Gallogly said on LyondellBasell’s earnings conference call on Friday.

“We’re expecting to have the volumes we need for start up this weekend.”

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By: Ben DuBose
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