MOSCOW (MRC) -- Citgo Petroleum Corp said it is not planning to idle its 418,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Lake Charles, Louisiana, refinery damaged by Hurricane Laura, reported Reuters.
Rumors have circulated since Laura’s passage over the Lake Charles area on Aug. 27 that Citgo was considering shutting the refinery for an indefinite period because of the extent of the damage and continuing low demand for motor fuels in the COVID-19 pandemic.
As MRC informed previously, Citgo Petroleum Corp said an early assessment of its 418,000-bpd Lake Charles refinery revealed “no major structural damage to operating equipment”. Sources familiar with plant operations have said that significant damage was done by the winds of deadly Hurricane Laura, especially to cooling towers, and it would be four to six weeks before the refinery restarts.
We remind that in the first week of July, 2020, Citgo restarted the large gasoline-producing fluid catalytic cracker at its 167,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery.
Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's DataScope report, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC