[BASF] Relieves BDO and Its Derivatives Force Majeure in North America

In the week of January 14, 2018, the occurrence of two unrelated incidents caused BASF to declare force majeure against 1,4-butanediol (BDO) and its derivatives in North America. This statement was made at the manufacturing facility in Gasma, Louisiana. The impact of the production.

On January 14th (Sunday), a natural gas pipeline was damaged by a natural gas fire that occurred between IMTT and BASF's manufacturing facility in Gasma, Louisiana. The fire has been extinguished and there have been no reports of anyone injured in this incident. However, this fire caused BASF to stop the operation of Gassma's production base. BASF used natural gas as a raw material for chemical production in Gasma.

In addition to natural gas fires, there was another incident that was not related to it. On January 16th (Tuesday), the southern Louisiana area continued for many days to record the lowest temperatures in history, accompanied by rainfall, sleet, and snowfall. For reasons of start-up and safety, the above extreme weather conditions caused BASF to stop the operation of the Gesma factory.

Specific products affected include: 1,4-butanediol (BDO), tetrahydrofuran (THF), Y-butyrolactone (GBL), N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), polytetrahydrofuran ether glycol (Poly THF) , 2-pyrrolone (2P) and N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP).

BASF expects this force majeure to continue into the first quarter of 2018. The company informed affected customers and is working hard to reduce disruptions. In the coming weeks, BASF will continue to update its customers with supply-related developments.

BDO and its derivatives are used to produce engineering plastics, polyurethanes, solvents and elastic spandex fibers.