FocusExxonMobil brings total US C2 expansions to over 33% of capacity

01 June 2012 20:54  [Source: ICIS news]

By Joseph Chang

NEW YORK (ICIS)--US-based ExxonMobil Chemical’s announcement of a new 1.5m tonne/year cracker in Texas by 2016 brings the tally of new US ethylene capacity announcements to 33% of existing capacity.

ExxonMobil confirmed earlier on Friday that the ethane cracker would provide ethylene feedstock for two new 650,000 tonne/year high-performance polyethylene (PE) lines at the company’s nearby Mont Belvieu Plastics Plant.

ExxonMobil has filed permit applications with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, with government reviews and approvals expected to take around a year.

The company will make a final investment decision following completion of the government’s reviews and approvals, said spokesperson Margaret Ross.

ExxonMobil’s move - with its planned top-of-the-line 1.5m tonne/year cracker - could dissuade others to build world-scale crackers of their own in the US.

With ExxonMobil’s announcement, the total planned additional ethylene capacity in the US now amounts to 8.89m tonnes/year, or 33.4% of existing US capacity which would come on by 2017, according to an analysis by ICIS.

This includes new crackers, expansions, debottlenecks and restarts.

ExxonMobil joins a crowded field of companies planning new crackers in the US – Chevron Phillips Chemical, Shell, Dow Chemical and Formosa Plastics.

Sasol is undertaking a feasibility study for a 1.0-1.4m tonne/year cracker at its Lake Charles, Louisiana site, with the study targeted for completion by the second half of 2013.

The Sasol announcement is included in the total ICIS tally at an estimated 1.2m tonnes/year for its proposed cracker.

Other companies that have said they would consider building or partnering on world-scale crackers in the US include Saudi Arabia-based SABIC, Brazil’s Braskem, Thailand-based companies Indorama and PTT Global Chemicals, Mexichem, US-based Occidental Petroleum and US-based start-up firm Aither Chemicals.

These are not included in the ICIS analysis.

ANNOUNCED ETHYLENE EXPANSIONS BASED SHALE GAS 

Company	Project	Capacity	Location	Cost	Start-up
ExxonMobil Chemical	New cracker	1.5 tonnes	Baytown, Texas	NA	2016
Chevron Phillips Chemical	New cracker	1.5m tonnes	Cedar Bayou, Texas	NA	Q1 2017
Dow Chemical	New cracker	World-scale	US Gulf Coast	NA	2016-2017
Shell	New cracker	World-scale	US Northeast	NA	2016-2017
Formosa Plastics	New cracker	800,000 tonnes	Point Comfort, Texas	$1.7bn	2016
Dow Chemical	Restart	390,000 tonnes	St. Charles, Louisiana	NA	end 2012
Westlake Chemical	Expansion	108,863 tonnes	Lake Charles, Louisiana	NA	H2 2012
Williams	Expansion	272,158 tonnes	Geismar, Louisiana	$350m-$400m	Q3 2013
INEOS	Debottleneck	115,000 tonnes	Chocolate Bayou, Texas	NA	end 2013
Westlake Chemical	Expansion	113,399 tonnes	Lake Charles, Louisiana	NA	2014
LyondellBasell	Expansion	386,000 tonnes	La Porte, Texas	NA	2014
Considered expansions
Sasol	New cracker	1.0m-1.4m tonnes	Lake Charles, Louisiana	$3.5bn-$4.5bn	NA
Indorama Ventures	New cracker	1.3m tonnes	NA	NA	2018
LyondellBasell	Expansion	NA	Channelview, Texas	NA	NA
SABIC	New cracker	World-scale	US	NA	NA
Braskem	New cracker	NA	US	NA	NA
Occidental Chemical	New cracker	NA	Ingleside, Texas	NA	NA
Aither Chemicals, Renewable Manufacturing Gateway	New cracker	NA	US Northeast	$750m	2016
PTT Global Chemical	New cracker	NA	NA	NA	NA

Source: ICIS

Additional reporting by Graeme Paterson in London

By: Joseph Chang
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