HOUSTON—Chemicals supplier TPC Group has completed the second phase of its terminal operations at the Port Neches butadiene production site, which was hit by an explosion in November 2019.
Phase 2 started with butadiene receipts and deliveries to major customers in the area and moving crude C4 deliveries by rail and marine, TPC said in a Feb. 23 statement.
According to the Texas group, the three-phased start-up involves "significant manpower and capital" and aims to reestablish terminal operations to position the site for future C4 capacity growth.
"We are pleased with the progress we continue to make on re-establishing butadiene, crude C4 and raffinate terminalling capabilities at the Port Neches site," Ed Dineen, TPC Group CEO and president, said in the release. "Our ability to provide a safe, environmentally sound terminal with logistics capability to transport product is important to the industry."
Two TPC workers and a contractor were injured in the Nov. 27, 2019 blast at the butadiene production site.
At the time of the incident, the facility had a nameplate capacity of 426,000 metric tons per year, representing 17 percent of all U.S. production.