ExxonMobil Corp. will add a unit to expand production of granular and pelletized polyethylene (PE) by 65% from current rates at its 1-million tonne/year PE plant in Beaumont, Tex.
Already under construction and scheduled for startup sometime in 2019, the 650,000-tpy PE unit comes as part of the company’s goal to meet rising demand for high-performance plastics, ExxonMobil said.
Alongside aligning with the company’s strategy to capitalize on lower feedstock prices resulting from rising supplies of US shale gas and associated liquids, the Beaumont project builds on supply advantages created by a concurrent expansion of the 1-million tpy PE plant in Mont Belvieu, Tex., where ExxonMobil said it is adding two similar units.
Combined, the multimillion investment at Beaumont and Mont Belvieu will increase the ExxonMobil’s US PE production by about 2 million tpy or 40%, making Texas the company’s largest PE supply point.
ExxonMobil’s previously announced investments at its integrated refining complex in Beaumont include expansion of the refinery’s crude refining capacity as well as construction of a unit to increase domestic supply of ultralow-sulfur gasoline and diesel ((OGJ Online, Aug. 12, 2015; July 26, 2016).
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
