MOSCOW (MRC) -- As a consequence of the fire incident at the North Harbour at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen on October 17, 2016, BASF has to declare Force Majeure on deliveries of dispersions, dispersion powders and hotmelts on acrylic monomer basis from BASF’s sites in Ludwigshafen and Tarragona until further notice, said the company on its site.
While the plants for the above mentioned products are not affected by the incident, impacts on logistics as well as raw materials are given. Due to the fire, the raw material supply of the steam crackers was halted; also other Verbund plants were idled or production reduced. Many plants, such as one of the steam crackers, have resumed operations in the meantime.
As of today product inventories are nearly exhausted and the production output is restricted due to still limited access to key raw materials. Under the current circumstances a delivery via barge, rail or tank car is also limited.
BASF is currently not able to specify how long this situation will last. Meanwhile BASF is implementing measures to limit the consequences for its customers and will continuously inform them about the development and the details regarding the supply capability with the affected products.
As MRC informed earlier, BASF said it declared force majeure for the purchase of naphtha, ethylene and propylene, freeing it from contractual liabilities towards external suppliers of the chemicals.
BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF had sales of over EUR74 billion in 2014 and over 113,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC