Williams Partners is producing ethylene for sale at the expanded Geismar, Louisiana, olefins plant, after successful commissioning of the rebuilt and expansion projects, the company said Tuesday.
Initial sales volumes and allocations were yet to be provided, market sources said.
The latest restart attempt began in mid-November after the addition of 12 pressure safety valves and the replacement of piping, following a July study that identified issues at the site that led to the addition of PSVs. The site was expected to restart in July, but a study that month identified issues at the site that led to the addition of the PSVs. That delay followed an earlier postponement when the company pushed the restart from June to July, with an expectation of resuming production in August. In the weeks after the explosion, Williams said it was targeting an April restart.
The expanded ethylene capacity of the site is 885,000 mt/year, the company said. Before the June 13, 2013, explosion and subsequent fire, which injured over 70 employees and killed two, the plant’s ethylene and propylene production capacity were pegged at 590,000 mt/year and 40,000 mt/year, respectively.
An initial damage assessment found the explosion started in the propylene fractionator area of the complex, which caused damage to the heat exchangers and reboilers in adjacent areas, the company said in an incident update memo on June 24, 2013. Additionally, a 50-foot section of plant pipe rack system was damaged, which would require the replacement of support structures and a “significant amount of piping,” the company added in a June 24, 2013 memo.
– Platts.com
