Nynas Naphthenics AB on Monday lifted a global force majeure declaration for transformer oils, issued 10 days earlier because of operational problems at its naphthenics base oil plant in Nynashamn, Sweden.
Although it has not yet fixed the problem, an official said the company found a temporary solution, and the plant is again making products according to specification and at full capacity.
Of course, this was not nice for our customers, Supply Chain Director Per Dahlstedt said. But we are glad to be able to lift [the declaration] this soon. It could have taken a month or so.
Nynas, which is based in Stockholm, is the worlds largest supplier of electrical transformer oils, which are traditionally made from light-viscosity naphthenic base stocks. On Feb. 25 it informed customers that it had been unable to fix a two-week-old problem in a hydrotreater and might have to limit deliveries to 50 percent of contracted volumes until further notice. On Monday Dahlstedt said it appeared that the impact of the problem had been limited to some deliveries being made late.
Force majeure is a legal term generally used as an excuse from liability for not meeting contractual obligations in case of natural disasters, war or failures of third parties. Nynas said it made its declaration at least partly out of consideration for customers, to allow them to tap other sources while it worked to resolve its problem.