Power outage causes flaring from boiler shutdown at TPC Group's Houston site

Houston — A power outage forced shutdowns of boilers at TPC Group's Houston operations late Oct 13, causing flaring that generated black smoke noticeable for miles, the company said Oct. 14.

"This flare and black smoke continue to be visible while our operations personnel continue to work to resolve the issue as quickly and safely as possible," the company said in an emailed statement. "The team is making good progress in restoring power to the site and we expect to resume steam production today."

TPC's Houston site includes a 544,310 mt/year butadiene unit.