**Orlen Unipetrol’s Litvínov Refinery and Petrochemical Operations Remain Offline Due to World War II Aerial Bomb**
In a recent development that has significantly impacted the operations of Orlen Unipetrol, the 5.4-million tonne/year (tpy) integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Litvínov, Czech Republic, remains offline. The suspension of activities at the site stems from the discovery of an unexploded aerial bomb from World War II during excavation work in a remote part of the Chempark Záluží petrochemical complex on August 21, 2024.
Following the discovery, Orlen Unipetrol immediately initiated a safe shutdown of all production and energy units at the Litvínov refinery. This precautionary measure was completed by August 22, ensuring a secure environment until further notice. As a consequence of the shutdown, the refined feedstock required for integrated petrochemical operations became unavailable, prompting the controlled shutdown of the Chempark Záluží ethylene plant’s 544,000-tpy steam cracker and reduction in operations at the site’s polymerization and other downstream units.
Orlen Unipetrol declared force majeure on product supply from the integrated complex, citing the bomb’s discovery as an extraordinary and unforeseen obstacle that made it impossible for the company to fulfill its contractual obligations with business partners.
The Czech Republic police and fire rescue services have been working closely with Orlen Unipetrol to prepare areas for the bomb’s deactivation, which is scheduled for August 30, 2024. After successful disposal, detailed inspections will be conducted to ensure the site is safe for restart. The company will then commence its own inspections, including checks on all production units and infrastructure, before finalizing any restart timeline. For now, operations at both refining and petrochemical sites have been stalled due to this