More flaring as Indorama Ventures begins effort to restart ethane cracker

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Indorama Ventures is again attempting to restart its ethane cracker unit at its Westlake facility, and that will mean more flaring and noise.

Back in June, the company ended its months-long effort to restart the 35-year-old facility that had been idle for 17 years.

In a news release, the company tried to reassure residents of its commitment to safety.

“I want to assure the community, our top priority is to operate a safe facility and to be a good corporate neighbor here in Southwest Louisiana,” said Tony Barre’, Indorama Ventures’ senior site director.

“Since June 2019, we have worked hard to address a number of issues that were problematic to a successful operation. In addition, we have worked transparently with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) and our local and state elected officials to ensure we are in compliance with all state and federal environmental regulations.”

Indorama Ventures said it has invested millions of dollars and retained a workforce of approximately 150 regular full-time employees during the five-month outage which began in June.

Indorama Ventures said it appreciates the patience and support of the local community and encourages the public to utilize its hotline at 337-502-4754 for up-to-date information regarding its operations.