Formosa Plastics Corp. USA is operating under force majeure conditions for polyethylene and polypropylene at its plant in Point Comfort.

Livingston, N.J.-based Formosa declared force majeure on Dec. 5, one day after a site-wide power outage. The cause of the outage remains under investigation, company spokesman Steve Rice said by phone Dec. 15.

No damage or injuries were reported as a result of the outage, and power was restored Dec. 6. The site’s PE, PP and olefins units began coming back online on Dec. 9. Customers remain on allocation for PE and PP. Rice declined to say what percentage of customers’ orders were being shipped.

The site is expected to be back at normal production “in the next few days,” Rice said. He added there was no estimate as to when force majeure would be lifted, and that Formosa was working with existing inventories.

One of the site’s two olefins/polyolefins units already was down for maintenance and, as a result, was less affected by the outage, Rice said. Production of PVC and related feedstocks already has been restored.

All of Formosa’s North American PE and PP production is located at the massive Point Comfort facility, which covers 1,600 acres and employs 1,800. Capacity totals for the site were unavailable. According to industry estimates, Formosa ranks as North America’s sixth-largest maker of high density PE, low density PE and PP, based on estimated annual sales. In regional PVC, the firm ranks fourth, according to industry estimates.