Huntsman Port Arthur facility could be down for several months

The massive fire in the propylene refrigeration unit at Port Arthur's Huntsman is under control. However, facility is not operational as an investigation and assessment of damage is pending. A team of investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is being deployed to the site. Though investigators are in the very early stages of assessing the impact of the fire, it appears that the damage is significant and the plant could be off line for several months. Huntsman says its Port Arthur facility, also known as the Light Olefins Unit (LOU), has an annual production capacity of 1.4 billion pounds of ethylene, or about 30% of Huntsman`s global capacity. It also has an annual capacity of 800 million pounds of propylene, 680 million pounds of cyclohexane and 460 million pounds of benzene. None of Huntsman`s other plants were impacted and they remain operational.