Total, Borealis, NOVA joint project breaks ground on US Gulf cracker

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Total, Borealis and NOVA Chemicals held a ground-breaking ceremony on Monday for the construction of a new ethane cracker in Port Arthur, Texas.

The project is the first under construction by Bayport Polymers (Bay-Pol), a joint venture between the companies.

“This is an important milestone for our new company,” Bay-Pol President Diane Chamberlain, said.

Also at the ceremony was Borealis CEO Mark Garrettt, NOVA Chemicals CEO Todd Karran and Bernard Pinatel, President, Refining and Chemicals, Total.

The $1.7bn cracker will have an ethylene capacity of 1m tonnes/year and is being built alongside Total’s Port Arthur Refinery and an existing cracker owned by Total and BASF.

The cracker is expected to start up in 2020.

Bay-Pol also plans a 625,000 tonnes/year high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant, with an expected start-up in 2021. The plant, which is subject to further approvals, will be built in Bayport, Texas.

The Bay-Pol joint venture also includes Total’s existing 400,000 tonne/year HDPE plant, also in Bayport, Texas.

The cracker and new HDPE plant are part of the second wave of ethylene-chain expansion in the US Gulf, which includes several new crackers and downstream PE units.

The Bay-Pol joint venture is 50% owned by Total and 50% owned by Novealis, a joint venture of NOVA and Borealis.