Olin declares force majeure on products systemwide after Louisiana fire, chlorine leak: letter

Olin declared force majeure April 20 on chlorine, caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and other products produced throughout its US operations, according to a customer letter seen by S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The letter said the world's largest chlor-alkali producer was experiencing ongoing disruptions across its system, "including significant unplanned production and power outages at our facilities in Plaquemine, Louisiana, and Freeport, Texas."

The company said the duration of the interruptions "is uncertain at this time."

In addition to chlorine, caustic soda and EDC, the force majeure applies to bleach, hydrochloric acid, methylene chloride, chloroform and perchloroethylene produced throughout Olin's US operations.

The company said the force majeure also applies to hydrogen produced at the Plaquemine facility.

"Olin is working diligently to minimize the impact of these events and restore normal operations as quickly and safely as possible, " the letter said.

The company did not respond to a request for comment on the declaration.

Earlier April 20, Olin said emergency response efforts to contain a chlorine release at its Plaquemine facility had concluded without incident.

"We are conducting a thorough analysis as we work to identify the cause," Olin said.

The leak occurred on the evening of April 18 when a compressor at the plant caught fire, according to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. Liquid chlorine leaked but began transforming into its gas form when no longer refrigerated, officials said.

The fire was quickly extinguished, and crews doused the leak as well to dilute the gas as windy conditions carried it away. A shelter in place was lifted after several hours, and Olin said April 20 that continued air monitoring had shown no risk of exposure at the site or surrounding areas.

No injuries were reported from the fire and leak, Olin said.

Chlorine gas is poisonous and can cause acute damage to upper and lower respiratory tracts if breathed in, according to the National Institutes of Health.

In mid-February, Olin also announced that two of its six power generation units at its Freeport, Texas, complex had shut down because of a mechanical failure. Those shutdowns at Freeport were among the outages noted in the company's force majeure letter issued April 20.

Those power outages have left Olin on reduced output at its Freeport complex. That complex, as well as Olin's Plaquemine operation and its McIntosh, Alabama, chlor-alkali facility wrapped up turnarounds in early to mid April, according to sources familiar with company operations.

The company did not respond to requests for comment about the turnarounds.

Olin's Plaquemine facility can produce up to 850,000 mt/year of chlorine and 934,066 mt/year of caustic soda. The Freeport complex has a 3 million mt/year chlor-alkali plant, a downstream 748,000 mt/year EDC unit and other chlorine derivative units.

Chlorine is the first link in the production chain for construction staple polyvinyl chloride. It also is used for water treatment and to manufacture hydrochloric acid used in oil and gas production, crop sprays, refrigerants and other derivatives. Chlorine reacted with ethylene makes EDC, a precursor to PVC.

Caustic soda, a byproduct of chlorine production, is a key feedstock for alumina and the pulp and paper industries.

Hydrochloric acid is used in oil and gas production, and methylene chloride is used is used in paint stripping, pharmaceutical manufacturing and metal cleaning. Perchloroethylene is a solvent used in dry cleaning fabrics.