Sasol boosts Lake Charles ethane cracker price estimate by $2.1 B
Petrochemicals company Sasol Ltd. raised the price tag of its US ethane cracker project to $11 B from $8.9 B, in line with an estimate it flagged to the market in June.
The project is currently under construction near Lake Charles, Louisiana, adjacent to Sasol's existing chemical operations.
An independent third party review of the estimate has been carried out.
A detailed review has confirmed that the total capital cost for the project is expected to be $11 B, which includes site infrastructure and utility improvements. This is an increase of $2.1 B from the original estimate in October 2014.
According to Sasol, there has been a significant increase in costs due to an increase in ground work required to establish the site compared to what was estimated previously.
The total labor cost is expected to increase by around $670 MM.
Weather delays have also been a factor in construction costs.
As of June 30, capital expenditure on LCCP was $4.8 B, with overall project completion estimated to be about 50%. The construction schedule has not changed, however, and the project is expected to be completed in 2017 and fully operational by late 2018.
Reporting by Ed Stoddard and Bengaluru Newsroom; editing by Jason Neely
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