INEOS declares force majeure at Texas polypropylene plant

HOUSTON (ICIS)–INEOS declared force majeure on US polypropylene (PP) following an equipment failure at a Texas plant, the company said on Tuesday.

The chemical producer told customers in a letter dated 13 January that the unit suffered an equipment failure on 6 January that caused limited operations.

“This unforeseeable event has reduced production capacity and as such, INEOS must, as a precautionary measure, declare force majeure concerning its supply of PP,” the letter said.

An INEOS employee said the failure occurred in a homopolymer line at the company’s 440,000 tonnes/year plant in Chocolate Bayou and would only affect the company’s US PP supply.

INEOS said it was trying to address the problem and return production capacity to normal levels as soon as possible.