LyondellBasell mulls 500m lb/year ethylene expansion in US

02 May 2011 19:05  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--LyondellBasell is considering debottlenecking its crackers at Channelview and La Porte, Texas, which could add at least 500m lb/year (227,000 tonnes/year) of ethane-based ethylene capacity, chief executive Jim Gallogly said on Monday.

The projects are still in early engineering stages, Gallogly said during an earnings conference call.

"We think that makes the most sense," he said. "Typically those brownfield debottleneck investments have the most significant payouts."

LyondellBasell has two crackers in Channelview, Texas, and one in La Porte, Texas. Gallogly did not specify if the company would debottleneck both Channelview crackers or just one.

The Channelview crackers each have a capacity of 873,000 tonnes/year and the La Porte cracker has a capacity of 789,000 tonnes/year, according to ICIS plants and projects. 

For more on ethylene visit ICIS chemical intelligence

By: Al Greenwood
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