03-10-2013

Chevron Phillips Chemical gets approval to build USGC petrochemicals project

Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP is pleased to announce it received board approval to execute the US Gulf Coast (USGC) Petrochemicals Project first announced in March 2011.

Additionally, the company awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to a joint venture between JGC (USA), Inc. and Fluor Enterprises, Inc. to execute the 1.5 million metric tons/year (3.3 billion pounds/year) ethane cracker portion of the project.  The company has also awarded an EPC contract to Gulf Coast Partners, a partnership between Technip USA Inc. and Zachry Industrial, Inc., to execute the two new polyethylene facilities, each with an annual capacity of 500,000 metric tons (1.1 billion pounds).

“We remain in the first mover position as we take another critical step in executing a project that will benefit our customers, suppliers, local communities and existing and future employees,” said Pete Cella, president and chief executive officer of Chevron Phillips Chemical. “We are able to realize this important milestone thanks to continued strong growth in demand for our products, shale resource development in the United States, and the tremendous support of our owners.”
 
The state-of-the-art, world-scale polyethylene units will be capable of producing a wide variety of high and linear low density polyethylene products including bimodal and metallocene-based polyethylene polymers.  These facilities will incorporate Chevron Phillips Chemical’s leading edge metallocene technology and proprietary Advanced Dual Loop bimodal technology.
 
In addition to the bimodal and linear low density products, the flexibility of these units will allow for growth of current blow molding, injection molding and film grades offered by Chevron Phillips Chemical.  Sold under the long-established brand names of Marlex® resins for rigid packaging and extrusion applications and  Marflex® resins for film and extrusion coating applications, the new production facilities will be complemented by expansion of Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Technical Service capability offering sustainable solutions in a wide variety of applications ranging from flexible packaging to high performance pressure pipe.

The ethane cracker will be built at Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas, and two polyethylene units will be built at a site in Old Ocean, Texas, near Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Sweeny plant. The USGC Petrochemicals Project is expected to commence construction in early 2014 and create approximately 400 long-term direct jobs and 10,000 engineering and construction jobs.

Site preparation is in progress, critical equipment for the project has been ordered, expansion of the supporting infrastructure has commenced and the company has executed a contract for the fabrication of the rail cars needed to supply product to our customers. “Overall, this project aligns perfectly with Chevron Phillips Chemical’s strategy of profitable growth, competitive advantage, operational excellence and organizational capability, and we look forward to a successful and safe startup in 2017,” said Cella.

In August 2013, Chevron Phillips Chemical announced that the company had received the cracker’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greenhouse gas permit and the required Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) air permits necessary to commence construction of both facilities.