Axiall Corp. said repairs are nearing completion at its Lake Charles, La., chemical complex following a Dec. 20, 2013, fire that occurred in the vinyl chloride manufacturing area of the plant (OGJ Online, Dec. 26, 2013).
Based on an updated assessment of the complex’s PHH vinyl chloride monomer manufacturing area, Axiall expects operations to resume near the end of this year’s first quarter, the company said.
Despite the plant’s running at reduced rates in the fire’s wake, the company estimates that repairs and lost production will have minimal impact on fourth-quarter 2013 financial results but will reduce first-quarter 2014 operating income by $25 million, Axiall said.
No updates were available regarding current operations at the plant, the company previously said remainder of the Lake Charles plant was unaffected by the fire, with production continuing as normal in those areas (OGJ Online, Dec. 26, 2013).
Formed by a merger of Georgia Gulf Corp. and the commodity chemicals business of PPG Industries, Pittsburgh, in January, Axiall already holds three manufacturing plants in Louisiana, two of which are in the Lake Charles area, with another in Plaquemine.
Just a day prior to the Dec. 20—the cause of which has yet to be disclosed—Axiall announced that it had selected the state of Louisiana as the location for a possible $3 billion project, which, if approved, would include an ethylene cracker to be built and commissioned by 2018 (OGJ Online, Dec. 20, 2013).