Ineos Olefins & Polymers USA has placed force majeure supply limits on impact copolymer grades of polypropylene resin made at its plant in Alvin, Texas.
In a July 23 letter to customers, officials with Ineos in Houson said the plant suffered an equipment failure and mechanical breakdown on July 20, according to an online post from materials supplier Plastics Exchange. Officials with Ineos declined to comment.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) shows air emission incident reports from the Alvin site, known as Chocolate Bayou, on July 20 and 22 that described flaring from separation of an isolation valve assembly at the Olefins 2 unit, according to the post.
"Copolymer PP markets have already been tightly supplied and were also impacted by Hurricane Beryl [earlier in July]," the post said. "This new production disruption … will further reduce supply availability and likely apply additional upward pressure on prices."
PP exports also have risen sharply in recent months, leaving less material available for domestic consumption, the post added. The Ineos plant in Alvin has almost 930 million pounds of annual PP production capacity.