By Monica Houston-Waesch

FRANKFURT--BASF SE said late Wednesday it will restart both steam crackers at its Ludwigshafen factory complex over the next few days, which were shut down following a pipeline explosion and resulting fires on Monday.

A total of 24 plants were closed down as a result of the fire, including the crackers which are used to convert hydrocarbons into other chemicals. Three people were killed in the blast, which occurred Monday morning during work on a pipeline, while six others were seriously injured.

BASF also declared force majeure, or circumstances beyond its control, for the purchase of naphtha, ethylene and propylene, since the fire also damaged pipelines for externally acquired raw materials. Ludwigshafen is also the site of the chemical group's headquarters.

"Various measures are being evaluated to minimize the impact on customer deliveries," BASF said.

Some of the plants at Ludwigshafen were able to continue production using inventories, and BASF said it is preparing an alternate naphtha supply at a site away from the incident area.

Write to Monica Houston-Waescha at nikki.houston@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 20, 2016 03:04 ET (07:04 GMT)