Explostion at Sasol’s Lake Charles Chemicals Project Low-Density Polyethylene Unit
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On Monday January 13, 2020 Sasol experienced an explosion and fire at its LCCP low-density polyethylene (LDPE) unit.
The fire was extinguished and all employees and contractors are safe and accounted for.
The new LDPE unit had not yet achieved beneficial operation (BO) as planned for in December 2019. The unit was in the final stages of commissioning and startup when the incident occurred. The unit has been shut down and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the incident, the extent of the damage and resulting impact on the LDPE unit’s BO schedule.
All other Lake Charles units and previously commissioned LCCP units, namely the ethane cracker, ethylene glycol/ethylene oxide and linear low-density polyethylene units, are unaffected and operating to plan. The ethane cracker has achieved nameplate capacity following the successful replacement of the acetylene reactor catalyst in the plant during December 2019.
The remaining three downstream units under construction to complete the integrated LCCP site, Ziegler alcohols and alumina, alcohol ethoxylates and Guerbet alcohols, are also unaffected and remain within cost and schedule as per our previous guidance.
About Sasol
Sasol Limited was formed in 1979 to hold the assets of the South African Coal, Oil and Gas Corporation (Sasol) and its subsidiaries. For years its principal product was synthetic fuel, a business that enjoyed significant government protection in South Africa during the apartheid years. Sasol is focusing primarily on its petrochemical business, as well as on efforts to convert natural gas into crude oil.
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