LyondellBasell shuts HDPE plant in Bay City, Texas

LyondellBasell has shut down its 821,000 t/yr high density polyethylene (HDPE) Matagorda complex in Bay City, Texas, due to widespread power outages in the aftermath of tropical storm Nicholas.

The storm briefly reached hurricane status as it came ashore at about 1:30am ET 20 miles southwest of Freeport, Texas. The storm knocked out power to more than 450,000 customers in the Houston area. It also resulted in widespread power outages in the Bay City area, a spokesman for LyondellBasell said.

The company offered no estimate on when the facility will restart.

LyondellBasell's other US Gulf coast facilities are operating as planned, the spokesman said.

The fresh outages will contribute to tight supply for HDPE in the US market, following earlier outages in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, which hit on 29 August. In the immediate aftermath of that storm, roughly 18pc of total US PE capacity was down, although much of that capacity has either restarted or is in the process of restarting.

By Michelle Klump