Explosion rocks a TPC butadiene plant in Texas

An explosion at a TPC Group plant shook the community around Port Neches, Texas, at 1 a.m. on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 27. A huge fireball breaking the nighttime stillness was captured on security cameras, and damage has been reported to nearby homes.

Two TPC workers and a contractor were injured in the blast and are being treated in area hospitals. TPC says it has accounted for all of its personnel. As of 6:40 a.m., first responders were still fighting to control the resulting blaze.

The Port Neches plant takes in crude C₄ chemical streams from area refineries and extracts butadiene, a raw material for synthetic rubber and engineering polymers. As of 2012, when the company last disclosed financial information to the public, the site had a capacity to produce about 220,000 metric tons of butadiene per year. It also sells coproduct C₄ streams.

TPC bought the facility from Huntsman Corp. in 2006. At one time, the site also made the fuel additive methyl tert-butyl ether.

The private equity firms SK Capital and First Reserve bought TPC in 2012. In early 2018, TPC announced it would expand crude C₄ processing capacity through small improvement projects at its plants. The company claims a 35% share of the North American butadiene market,

TPC says the blast occurred in a processing unit but that it does not yet know the cause. It is promising an investigation.