To Our Valued Customers:

Ergon – West Virginia Inc. (EWV) had a significant fire on Saturday, May 29, 2021, at the Newell, West Virginia, refinery. First and foremost, everyone is safe, and thankfully there were no injuries to any of the EWV responders or firefighters from nearby communities.

The fire was contained to the Unifier/Platforming unit; however, damage to the DCS systems controlling adjacent units will bring down the entire refinery for some period. Assessment of the damage is ongoing, and we will know more soon.

Product inventories were already at critically low levels due to a recent planned turnaround and subsequent delayed startup. With this event, product inventory will be completely depleted until further notice.

We are hereby declaring the occurrence of an event of force majeure, which excuses our performance while the effects of this event are continuing.

Ergon takes tremendous pride in the quality products and excellent service we have provided our loyal customers for more than 40 years. While unavoidable, we regret any inconvenience and are committed to making the necessary repairs, bringing the refinery back online, and resuming supply of your product as soon as possible.

We will provide updates regarding this situation on ergon.com. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact your Ergon sales executive.

Sincerely,

Chris Marquette
Senior Vice President
Petroleum Specialties Marketing Division