Market sources informed SSESSMENTS.COM on the updates of the explosion at South Korea Lotte Chemical’s naphtha cracker located in Daesan. According to the source, the explosion breakout on March 4 around 3 a.m. local time (18.00 GMT), the fire allegedly started from Process Gas Compressor. The fire was mostly put out by 5 a.m. after 240 firefighters and 66 vehicles were deployed. Due to the explosion, 31 people injured and 7 out of 10 facilities were shut down.
Further explained by the sources, the Daesan naphtha cracker can produce 1.1 million tons/year of ethylene (C2) and 540,000 tons/year of propylene (C3). Other chemicals produced at Daesan complex include 190,000 tons/year butadiene (BD) plant, a benzene unit with a capacity of 240,000 tons/year, LDPE plant and LLDPE plant with a capacity of 130,000 tons/year and 290,000 tons/year, respectively. As the effect of the explosion, the company’s forced to shut Naphtha Cracking Center (NCC), benzene, toluene, and mixed xylene (BTX), the butadiene (BD) plant, ethylene glycols (EG), LLDPE plant and all PP plants. However, this still needs to be confirmed. The sources added that if the compressor is damaged, then it will need at least six months to restore considering the time to order a new one and to install the compressor, SSESSMENTS.COM was told.
