US Axiall mulls new cracker, derivatives plant in Louisiana
Al Greenwood
19-Dec-2013
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Axiall may build a world-scale cracker and derivatives plant in Louisiana with a soon-to-be-named partner, the US-based vinyls producer said on Thursday.
The company did not specify the ethylene derivative.
The total cost of the project could be $3bn (€2bn), with the partner contributing $2bn and Axiall contributing the rest through a combination of new debt and cash on hand, the company said.
Axiall will now begin the permitting process and some of the front-end engineering design (FEED) work, the company said.
If Axiall chooses a site and goes ahead with the project, operations could start in 2018, the company said.
Axiall already has two plants in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and one in Plaquemine, Louisiana.
Axiall uses ethylene as a feedstock for vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), which is used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
“As part of Axiall’s long-term growth strategy, we believe it is important we have further integration with cost-based economics on 50% of our current annual ethylene requirements,” according to a statement by Axiall CEO, Paul Carrico.
“While we are still considering a number of options and potential partners for the project, and we have not yet received final investment approval from our board of directors, we have narrowed our siting choices to Louisiana,” he said.
Several companies are also expanding ethylene capacity in the US and Canada. Producers are eager to take advantage of low-cost ethane feedstock, made available through the advent of shale gas.
The following lists the projects.
NORTH AMERICA ETHYLENE EXPANSIONS BASED ON SHALE GAS | ||||
Company |
Project |
Capacity |
Location |
Start-up |
Sasol |
New cracker |
1.5m tonnes |
Lake Charles, Louisiana |
2017 |
Occidental Chemical/Mexichem |
New cracker |
544,000 tonnes |
Ingleside, Texas |
Feb 2017 |
ExxonMobil Chemical |
New cracker |
1.5m tonnes |
Baytown, Texas |
Late 2016 |
Chevron Phillips Chemical |
New cracker |
1.5m tonnes |
Cedar Bayou, Texas |
mid-late 2017 |
Dow Chemical |
New cracker |
1.5m tonnes |
Freeport, Texas |
2017 |
Shell |
New cracker |
World-scale |
Monaca, Pennsylvania |
2019-2020* |
Formosa Plastics |
New cracker |
1.2m tonnes |
Point Comfort, Texas |
2017 |
Williams |
Expansion |
272,158 tonnes |
Geismar, Louisiana |
Q4 2013** |
INEOS |
Debottleneck |
115,000 tonnes |
Chocolate Bayou, Texas |
end 2013 |
Westlake Chemical |
Expansion |
113,399 tonnes |
Lake Charles, Louisiana |
2014 |
Westlake Chemical |
Expansion |
82,000 tonnes |
Calvert City, Kentucky |
Q2 2014 |
LyondellBasell |
Expansion |
363,000 tonnes |
La Porte, Texas |
mid-2014 |
LyondellBasell |
Expansion |
113,000 tonnes |
Channelview, Texas |
2015 |
LyondellBasell |
Expansion |
363,000 tonnes |
Corpus Christi, Texas |
Late 2015 |
BASF Fina Petrochemicals |
Expansion |
NA |
Port Arthur, Texas |
2014 |
Considered expansions | ||||
LyondellBasell |
New cracker |
World-scale |
US |
NA |
Hanwha Chemical |
New cracker |
World-scale |
US |
NA |
Axiall |
New cracker |
World-scale |
US |
NA |
Indorama Ventures |
New cracker |
1.3m tonnes |
US |
NA |
SABIC |
New cracker |
World-scale |
US |
NA |
Odebrecht |
New cracker |
World-scale |
US |
NA |
PTT Global Chemical |
New cracker |
World-scale |
US |
NA |
Aither Chemicals |
New cracker |
272,000 tonnes |
US Northeast |
2016 |
NOVA Chemicals |
Expansion |
NA |
Corunna, Ontario, Canada |
NA |
* ICIS estimate
** Timing uncertain after explosion on 13 June 2013
($1 = €0.73)
Follow Al on Twitter
Global News + ICIS Chemical Business (ICB)
See the full picture, with unlimited access to ICIS chemicals news across all markets and regions, plus ICB, the industry-leading magazine for the chemicals industry.
Contact us
Partnering with ICIS unlocks a vision of a future you can trust and achieve. We leverage our unrivalled network of industry experts to deliver a comprehensive market view based on independent and reliable data, insight and analytics.
Contact us to learn how we can support you as you transact today and plan for tomorrow.