BASF Texas units shut down operations

26-Sep-05

For the second time in a month, BASF has shut few of its plants. Plants in five Texas cities had been closed pre-Rita, including two directly in the projected path of the mega-storm. Farther from the storm path, BASF also shut plants in Pasadena, Clear Lake and Freeport, Texas. Its plants in Geismar, La., and Altamira, Mexico, were put on alert but not closed. In Port Arthur and in two plants in Beaumont, about 85 miles east of Houston, employees have shut operations and secured the plants for what could be a direct hit by Rita. The Port Arthur plant (an ethylene and propylene plant) is a joint venture between BASF and ATOFINA Petrochemicals, at an investment outlay of US$1 billion.