An explosion and fire occurred at Lotte Ube Synthetic Rubbers' (LUSR) 50,000 t/yr polybutadiene rubber plant at Tanjung Langsat in Malaysia's Johor state today.
The cause of the fire, which occurred at approximately 5.15pm local time (9.15am GMT), could not be confirmed. It is unclear if there are any casualties.
The firm is a joint-venture between South Korean petrochemical producer Lotte Chemical with a 40pc stake, Malaysia's Lotte Chemical Titan with 10pc, Japanese petrochemical producer Ube Industries with 40pc and Japan's Mitsubishi with 10pc.
LUSR receives feedstock butadiene from a nearby cracker owned by Lotte Chemical Titan in Pasir Gudang, Johor. Lotte Chemical Titan is the Malaysian unit of Lotte Chemical.
