INEOS awards EPC contract for US PAO unit in Texas

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Canadian chemical engineer SNC-Lavalin and joint venture partner JV Driver were awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to design and build a polyalphaolefin (PAO) unit at the INEOS petrochemical complex in Chocolate Bayou, Texas, it said on Tuesday.

INEOS Oligomers’s PAO unit is expected to come online in October 2019, with a capacity of 120,000 tonnes/year, SNC-Lavalin said.

SNC-Lavalin noted it is providing project management, engineering, procurement services, while JV Driver is providing construction management.

PAOs are oil-based lubricants that have applications in aerospace, automotive, healthcare, industrial and other industries.

INEOS Oligomers made a final investment decision (FID) on the project in December.

The plant will complement existing units in La Port, Texas, and Feluy, Belgium.  The company’s PAO business has benefitted from a trend of companies reformulating lubricants so they can help improve the fuel efficiency of automobiles and lower emissions, INEOS Oligomers’s business director had said.