Sasol, INEOS finalise joint venture for HDPE plant in Texas

Michelle Klump

09-Jun-2014

Sasol, INEOS finalise joint venture for HDPE plant in TexasHOUSTON (ICIS)–Sasol and INEOS have reached a final investment decision to team up to build a 470,000 tonne/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant in LaPorte, Texas, the companies announced on Monday.

South African-based Sasol and the US olefins and polymers subsidiary of Switzerland-based INEOS will enter into a 50/50 joint venture to produce bimodal HDPE using INEOS’s Innovene S process technology. Sasol and INEOS will provide the ethylene required for production in proportion to their respective ownership positions.

INEOS will operate the plant at its Battleground Manufacturing Complex in LaPorte.

“Its location offers several benefits, including access to US Gulf coast infrastructure and proximity to our current and proposed ethane cracker and derivatives complex in southwest Louisiana,” said Fleetwood Grobler, Sasol group executive for global chemicals.

The definitive agreements are still being finalised, but all relevant permits have been obtained. However, because the plant will be debt financed, the investment decision is conditional on achieving financial close.

The two companies announced plans to form the joint venture in July 2013. Plant start-up is expected sometime in 2016, the companies said in the release.

The proposed plant is one of several planned PE expansions in North America that are tied to availability of ethane feedstocks from shale gas.

Company

Project

Tonnes/year

Grades

Location

Start-up

Chevron Phillips Chemical

New units

1m

HDPE, LLDPE, other

Sweeny, TX

2017

Dow Chemical

New units

N/A

PE (high-value), LDPE

Freeport, TX

2017

ExxonMobil Chemical

New units

1.3m

PE (premium)

Mont Belvieu, TX

Late 2016

Formosa Plastics

New unit

300,000

LDPE

Point Comfort, TX

2016

LyondellBasell

Debottleneck

100,000

Not specified

US

Q1 2014

LyondellBasell

New unit

454,000

Not specified

US

Late 2016

NOVA Chemicals

Debottleneck

N/A

LDPE

Mooretown, Canada

2018

NOVA Chemicals

Retrofit

N/A

HDPE

Mooretown, Canada

2018

NOVA Chemicals

New unit

430,000-500,000

LLDPE

Joffre, Canada

Q1 2016

NOVA Chemicals

New unit

NA

Advanced Sclairtech

NA

2020

Odebrecht

New units

NA

Not specified

West Virginia

NA

Sasol

New unit

450,000

LLDPE

Lake Charles, LA

2016

Sasol

New unit

420,000

LDPE

Lake Charles, LA

N/A

Sasol/INEOS

New unit

470,000

HDPE

LaPorte, TX

2016

Shell Chemicals

New unit

N/A

Not specified

Monaca, PA

2019-2020

 

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