Update: Gulf Coast resin plants restarting in aftermath of Hurricane Beryl
Formosa Plastics Corp. USA shut down its resin and feedstocks operations in Point Comfort, Texas, in advance of Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall at Matagorda, Texas, early July 8.
"We are actively monitoring the situation and will take all necessary steps to ensure that our facility is secure and that our team members are safe," officials with Formosa in Livingston, N.J., said in a news release.
"Our dedicated crisis management team is working around the clock to assess the impact of the hurricane and to expedite the process of resuming full operations as soon as it is safe to do so," they added. Formosa has major polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC resin production units in Point Comfort, which is about 60 miles from where Beryl came ashore.
The hurricane brought heavy rains and wind gusts near 90 mph to the Houston area. The storm also caused local flooding and knocked out electricity for more than 2 million customers.
Beryl was downgraded to a tropical storm by noon on July 8. In emails to Plastics News, representatives of Dow Inc. and ExxonMobil Chemical said their Houston-area plants were unaffected.
According to an Argus Media report, several petrochemical plants in the region preemptively shut down or experienced electrical surges on July 6 and 7.
Beryl is the second named storm of the season, following Tropical Storm Alberto, which hit northeastern Mexico in June. This year's Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be more active than normal, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA has predicted that four to seven major hurricanes will hit the region this year.