Sasol Ltd. is in the process of determining the extent of damage and necessary repairs that will be required following a Jan. 13 explosion and subsequent fire at the low-density polyethylene (LDPE) unit of its Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP), an integrated ethane cracker and downstream derivatives complex under progressive commissioning since 2019 in Westlake, La., near Lake Charles (OGJ Online, Jan. 14, 2020; Aug. 30, 2019).
While an investigation is still under way to establish the cause of the incident, extent of damage, and scope and timeline of repair, Sasol anticipates it will determine the repair scope and duration of the LDPE unit’s outage by the second half of February, the operator said on Jan. 24.
Sasol already has initiated the process with its insurance company, and coverage includes construction and commissioning activities.
Preliminary findings of the investigation indicate damage is limited to a small portion of the LDPE unit and, importantly, major equipment such as the compressors were unaffected, Sasol said. The operator also confirmed the explosion occurred in a high-pressure section of the unit.
Parallel commissioning activities on the remainder of the LDPE unit will continue, and technology providers, licensors, and other external experts are fully engaged in the ongoing investigation and repair plan.
Sasol additionally has mobilized and dispatched a team of its internal technical and operations experts to support the investigation team.
The operator plans to sell ethylene produced by LCCP’s 1.5 million-tonne/year cracker and destined for the LDPE unit to external buyers during the delayed startup of the unit. The LDPE unit previously was scheduled to reach beneficial operation (BO) in December 2019 and was in the final stages of commissioning at the time of the Jan. 13 incident.
Without disclosing specific financial details, Sasol said projected earnings for the LCCP complex in this financial year will only be impacted by the loss in margin of ethylene to LDPE.
Otherwise, the operator confirmed all previously commissioned units at LCCP were unaffected by the Jan. 13 incident and continue operating to plan. The remaining three downstream units under construction to complete the integrated LCCP site—including the Ziegler alcohols and alumina unit, alcohol ethoxylates unit, and Guerbet alcohols unit—also were unaffected by the incident and remain within cost and on schedule to reach BO as follows:
- Zeigler alcohols unit: January 2020.
- Guerbet alcohols unit: March 2020.
- Ethoxylation unit: January 2020.
LCCP overall progress
At the end of December 2019, engineering and procurement activities at LCCP were substantially complete, with construction progress at 98%. Overall project completion was at 99%, and capital expenditure amounted to $12.5 billion, Sasol said.
LCCP’s ethane cracker recently achieved nameplate capacity following a successful replacement of the acetylene reactor catalyst in the plant in late 2019 (OGJ Online, Dec. 17, 2019).
