Lukoil completes inquiry into causes of fire at Stavrolen petrochemical facility

08-Feb-12

Lukoil has completed the inquiry into the causes of the fire at the Stavrolen petrochemical facility and the ensuing breakdown of an ethylene-producing unit in December has been completed, as per StockMarketWire.com. Lukoil’s report says that most probably the fire was caused by the unsealing of connecting elements in the assembly for separation of the propane-propylene fraction. The unsealing, in its turn, was caused by corrosion and structural changes that had occurred while the equipment was in use. By preliminary estimates, the damaged and destroyed property is worth almost 812 mln rubles. The company Biosfera estimated the ecological damage at close to 6,000 rubles. According to the schedule for the manufacture and delivery of the new equipment, ethylene unit operation is expected to resume no later than the beginning of April. Recovery operations will not impair the timetable for the gas chemical facility construction project at Stavrolen.