Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Hunt Valley, MD, USA (Wednesday, June 11, 2008) – Cristal Global announced today that it has declared “Force Majeure” at its Bunbury titanium dioxide (TiO2) operations in Western Australia. Cristal Global made this declaration as a result of similar declarations made by its key energy and raw material suppliers who were also significantly impacted by the June 3, 2008 explosion and fire at Apache Energy’s Varanus Island natural gas pipeline facility.
On June 3, 2008, Cristal Global safely shutdown its Bunbury titanium dioxide (TiO2) operations in Western Australia as a result of the Force Majeure declaration it received from its natural gas distributor. While we have recently been given a small allocation of natural gas by our supplier, this supply is not enough to run our entire operations nor is this supply available to us on a consistent basis.
The natural gas situation and its impact on local Western Australia industry is still quite fluid. Cristal Global is uncertain at this time how long it will be before full production at its site is resumed. Cristal Global has started developing energy and raw material sourcing alternatives.
Cristal Global is supplying some customer requirements from available inventory and is evaluating options to supply customers from other company production sources.
Cristal Global continues to monitor this situation very closely and will provide updates as new information becomes available.
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Cristal Global is the world’s second-largest producer of titanium dioxide and a leading producer of titanium chemicals. Cristal Global operates eight manufacturing plants in six countries on five continents and employs more than 3,500 people worldwide. |
