Formosa eyes new olefins cracker in Texas
Formosa Plastics will build a new, grass-roots 800,000 tpy olefins cracker, an associated 600,000 tpy propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit and a new 300,000 tpy low density polyethylene (LDPE) resin plant at its site in Point Comfort, Texas, the company said on Monday.
The moves - part of $1.7 billion in capital investments - are largely based on affordable US natural gas costs for use as feedstock, the company said.
They will create an estimated 1,800 construction jobs and, once completed, an additional 225 long-term operating and maintenance jobs.
“This will be the third major expansion at the Point Comfort site; it sends a clear signal of our dedication to substantial investment and job creation in the US,” said executive vice president C. L. Tseng.
The olefins cracker will take advantage of the increasingly reliable and low-cost domestic natural gas and supply feedstock both to existing production units and the new LDPE unit, Formosa said.
The PDH unit will produce additional propylene, increasing operational flexibility.
Meanwhile, the addition of a LDPE resin plant will complement the company’s existing product line of Formolene polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) and Formolon polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and specialty PVC.
“We anticipate construction completion and start-up in 2016,” said site vice president and general manager Randy Smith.
“This is a tremendous vote of confidence in the US economy, the State of Texas and the Gulf Coast region’s workforce.”
Details on the units’ specific technologies, costs, start-up dates and contractors are not being released, according to the company.
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