Chevron Phillips plans polyalphaolefins expansion at Cedar Bayou plant

Chevron Phillips Chemical on Tuesday unveiled a new study to expand its low viscosity polyalphaolefins (PAO) capacity by 10,000 tpy of capacity at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas. 

Currently, its low viscosity PAO capacity at its Cedar Bayou plant is 48,000 tpy.

Additionally, the company has filed the necessary environmental notifications with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Final project approval would be sought in the second quarter of 2015, and project completion is targeted for 2016.

“This proposed expansion will help us to meet our increasing customer demand for sustainable products,” said Miles Oberton, global business manager of polyalphaolefins for Chevron Phillips Chemical. 

“PAOs provide energy efficient solutions to meet higher performance requirements, particularly in automotive and industrial applications," he added.

Chevron Phillips Chemical is a leader in the development and production of PAOs, marketed under the brand name Synfluid PAO, which includes both high and low viscosity PAOs. Chevron says the Synfluid PAOs are well-suited for a variety of automotive and industrial applications including gear oils, greases and automotive lubricants.

Chevron Phillips Chemical recently started construction of its 100,000-tpy expansion of normal alpha olefins (NAO) capacity at its Cedar Bayou plant. The NAO project is expected to be complete in July 2015 and utilizes Chevron Phillips Chemical’s proprietary NAO technology.

Normal alpha olefins are used as a feedstock for PAO production.