Producer
Arkema S.A.
French specialty chemicals company; world's leading ethyl mercaptan producer. Beaumont, TX is the sole US production site for propane odorant ethyl mercaptan. In 2023, Arkema produced 11,000+ MT of mercaptans total, supplying gas odorants to 200+ distribution companies globally across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific. Arkema also produces mercaptan blends (SPOTLEAK, VIGILEAK) for natural gas odorization. Separate from mercaptans, Arkema operates specialty polymers, adhesives, and coating resin businesses. Also notable for the September 2017 Arkema Crosby TX peroxide plant fire — a different Arkema facility near Houston that caught fire during Hurricane Harvey when refrigeration failed, causing explosion and evacuation.
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Inputs supplied
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Goods downstream
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Facilities
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Stories
What they make
2 inputs Arkema S.A. supplies
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Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Arkema S.A. makes — pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
2 facilities
Arkema Beaumont, Texas — Thiochemicals Plant →
USBeaumont, TX · chemical plant
Sole US production site for ethyl mercaptan (propane odorant). Federally mandated by 49 CFR 192.625 — all propane distributed in the US must contain a detectable odorant. Arkema Beaumont supplies 55%+ of US propane odorant demand. If this plant were shut for any reason, US propane distributors would face a federal safety compliance crisis: they legally cannot sell unodorized propane. Beaumont is also near the Port Arthur/Orange TX refinery cluster. Separate from the famous Arkema Crosby TX peroxide plant fire (Harvey 2017) — that was a different facility.
Arkema Lacq Mercaptan Plant →
FRLacq, Aquitaine · chemical_plant
One of the world's largest mercaptan manufacturing sites; supplies odorants to 200+ gas distribution companies globally
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map — where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Thiochemicals (Mercaptans + Gas Odorants)
15%Specialty Polymers (PVDF, Fluoropolymers)
25%Adhesives and Sealants (Bostik)
25%Coating Resins
20%Organic Peroxides + CECA
15%
Intelligence
What's known
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Did you know2023
Arkema — a French specialty chemical company best known for acrylics and high-performance polymers — is the world's largest producer of mercaptan gas odorants, supplying more than 200 gas distribution companies globally with >11,000 tons/year from its Lacq facility. This is the quintessential dual-use surprise: a European chemicals company no US homeowner has heard of sits at the chokepoint of making residential natural gas detectable by smell.
Market Reports World ↗Incident2017
In September 2017, during Hurricane Harvey flooding, Arkema's Crosby, Texas organic peroxides plant suffered multiple explosions and fires when floodwaters knocked out refrigeration systems used to keep temperature-sensitive peroxides stable. Local residents within 1.5 miles were evacuated; 15 Harris County sheriff's deputies were treated for chemical exposure. The Crosby facility was a different Arkema plant from the Beaumont thiochemicals (ethyl mercaptan) plant. However, the Crosby incident demonstrated that Arkema's Texas Gulf Coast operations are acutely vulnerable to major hurricanes — and any similar event affecting Beaumont (in Jefferson County, 90 miles east of Crosby) would eliminate the sole US source of federally mandated propane odorant.
Wikipedia ↗