Total shuts Antwerp reformer after blast; other units running normally

摘要

London - Total has shut its reformer unit at its refinery and petrochemical complex at Antwerp following a blast at its gasoline unit Tuesday, the company said Wednesday. All other units are operating normally, a company spokesperson said in an email. The explosion occurred Tuesday at around 3:00 pm local time (1400 GMT) in the steam system of a gasoline unit, resulting in two fatalities. Total's Antwerp refinery has a capacity of 350,000 b/d and is the third-largest plant in Europe, with 31 processing units that process crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel as well as naphtha and butane. The petrochemical complex includes three naphtha-based steam crackers with capacities of 610,000 mt/year, 550,000 mt/year and 255,000 mt/year. The smallest cracker has been idle since last year. The other petrochemical facilities at Antwerp include a benzene unit, a mixed-xylenes unit, a toluene unit, a polypropylene unit and a high density polyethylene unit.