BST plant to be out of action for months - report

ERJ staff report (DS)

Thailand - Following the fatal explosion and fire at BST Elastomers' BR and E-SBR facility in Map Ta Phut, over the weekend, local reports say the company has declared Force Majeure, and expects the plants to be out of action for months.

According to ICIS.com, the company told customers in letter dated 8 May that the facilities suffered severe damage and are expected to be out of action for months. The letter said the 5 May explosion and fire initially affected the BR unit and then spread to the E-SBR unit on the same site.

As a result, the BR unit is unlikely to open before November, while the E-SBR unit might be open within 2 months.

A butadiene monomer production unit may be back on stream within a month, said ICIS.

BSTE's facility is located in Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, Rayong Province with annual production rate of 50,000 tones and 70,000 tones for BR and E-SBR, respectively, under licence from JSR Corporation and Zeon Corporation.

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Press release from BST Elastomers

Thai BST declares FM in Map Ta Phut; BR, SBR plants damaged ICIS (Singapore)