South Korea's Lotte Chemical has shut its 1.1mn t/yr ethylene cracker in Daesan after an explosion that has injured at least 31 people.
The explosion occurred from a fire at a compressor unit within the naphtha cracker around 3am South Korea time (18:00 GMT) on 4 March. The fire has now been extinguished and investigation is underway to assess the extent of damage.
Lotte Chemical will declare a force majeure on product supplies to all of its customers this afternoon.
The cracker complex also produces 550,000 t/yr of propylene and 190,000 t/yr of butadiene. The cracker also feeds an aromatics unit that can produce 240,000 t/yr of benzene, 120,000 t/yr of toluene and 60,000 t/yr of solvent grade mixed xylenes.
Other downstream facilities are also expected to be subsequently shut as feedstock from the cracker dries up. These are a 130,000t/yr of low-density polyethylene, 290,000t/yr of LLDPE, 500,000 t/yr of polypropylene, 730,000t/yr of ethylene glycol and 580,000t/yr of styrene monomer.
