AFPM ’15: NOVA mulls 20-50% ethylene capacity addition

Interview article by Joseph Chang

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ICIS)–NOVA Chemicals is exploring a 20-50% increase in ethylene capacity at its cracker in Corunna, Sarnia, Canada, a senior executive said on Monday.

“We are now operating Sarnia at 100% NGLs (natural gas liquids) since late 2014, but the next step will be to go to 100% ethane. During the next planned turnaround in 2017, we can switch to 100% ethane and also potentially expand capacity significantly,” said Naushad Jamani, senior vice president of olefins & feedstock at NOVA Chemicals.

Jamani spoke with ICIS on the sidelines of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) International Petrochemical Conference (IPC).

The capacity expansion at the cracker would be on the order of 20-50% and engineering studies are under way. Current capacity is around 1.85bn lb/year (839,000 tonnes/year), he noted.

The Corunna cracker currently uses more than 70% ethane feedstock, but also cracks propane and ethane, he said.

“The expansion is strategically driven as we see incremental ethane coming into the market,” said Jamani.

“If you want to be a competitive ethylene producer in North America, you have to go with 100% ethane,” he added.

While a smaller expansion on the order of 20% would be targeted for 2018 start-up, a 50% expansion could take longer, he noted.

“If we do a larger ethylene expansion, then we would need a bigger investment on the derivative side. And so the new PE (polyethylene) plant would dictate the timing of the start-up of the [cracker] expansion,” said Jamani.

The crude oil decline has not had a major effect on the availability of NGLs, he said.

“We haven’t seen a drop. Supplies are flowing through the pipelines as expected. The long-term fundamentals in North America look good for NGLs and petrochemicals,” said Jamani.

The IPC takes places from 29-31 March in San Antonio, Texas.