Equistar to transition Texas cracker to lighter feeds

HOUSTON (ICIS news)–Equistar Chemicals on Friday said it would transition its Corpus Christi olefins plant in Texas to nearly all lighter feedstocks in 2010 due to cost advantages of natural gas liquids (NGL) over other heavier feeds.

The unit currently utilises a mix of NGLs and higher-cost feedstocks such as crude oil-based naphtha and condensate, the company said.

The cracker has 771,000 tonnes/year of ethylene capacity, according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

“Positioning the Corpus Christi site to operate almost exclusively on NGLs enables us to benefit from the anticipated cost advantage for the next several years,” said Vaughn Deasy, senior vice president of base chemicals and polyethylene (PE) for LyondellBasell.

LyondellBasell is the parent company of Equistar.

The transition process is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2010 at the conclusion of a scheduled maintenance turnaround at the site, the company said.

Deasy said the Corpus Christi plant would have the flexibility to return to heavier feed slates in the future, depending on operating costs.

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