The scarcity of hydrochloric acid has slowed up the drilling of some oil wells here locally in the Tulsa area. As many of you already know or not, hydrochloric acid is critical to the oil industry as well as to the dairy industry.
Hydrochloric acid is used to clean tanks, lines, and containers in the production of oil and milk. In the oil fields hydrochloric acid is used down hole to clean out the zones.
Evidently several of the plants that produce hydrochloric acid have recently gone out of business, claiming force majeure. Suppliers are scrounging for product to sell to their regular customers.
Now, I don't know of any recent natural disasters or political upheavals here in mid-America that would be interfering with the production of hydrochloric acid.
Does anyone know what is going on? I know I live in a bubble, but this question has me stumped. What am I missing here?
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Debbie...not sure why plants are going out of business, I do know that hydrochloric acid is used in some toilet bowl cleaners. It is very caustic, possibly the green movement to safer and less hazardous products may play into it.
Janelle -- I had totally forgotten about this blog. Thanks for your comment. It's encouraging.
Paul -- Your explanation seems more and more plausible. In this political environment risk taking has been severely curtailed especially because of the EPA. Good point.
I don't even know if this problem is still a problem. I'll have to check with one of my clients who is an operations manager for one of our big oil companies.