LyondellBasell slows construction on Gulf Coast PO-TBA plant

LyondellBasell Industries NV is slowing construction on what it is calling the world’s largest propylene oxide (PO) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) plant at the company’s Houston-area complex in Channelview, Tex. (OGJ Online, Sept. 3, 2018; June 3, 2016).

The company has informed engineering and construction contractors it is limiting nonessential activities at this time due to ongoing concerns related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including compliance with government orders designed to limit human contact, LyondellBasell said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and evolving. Because the PO-TBA site is currently under construction and not producing needed products yet, in the interest of health and safety we believe it is prudent to limit construction activities at this time,” said Torkel Rhenman, executive vice-president of LyondellBasell’s Intermediates & Derivatives business unit.

The operator plans to work with contractors and suppliers over the next several weeks to develop a revised project timeline, according to Rhenman.

The decision to slow construction of the PO-TBA project, however, does not impact LyondellBasell’s ongoing operations at its Channelview or Bayport, Tex., sites, which are designated by the US Department of Homeland Security as part of US critical infrastructure, the company said.

In February, LyondellBasell announced construction on the overall PO-TBA project—which broke ground in August 2018—had surpassed 30% after the late-2019 completion of first-phase construction, which included pouring nearly 83,000 cu yards of concrete and installing 160 miles of pipe at the project’s two construction sites (OGJ Online, Feb. 20, 2020; Nov. 11, 2019).

Once in operation, the 140-acre PO-TBA plant in Channelview will produce 1 billion lb/year of PO and 2.2 billion lb/year of TBA, the latter of which will move to an associated 34-acre ethers unit to be built at the company’s Bayport complex near Pasadena for conversion into high-octane gasoline components methyl tertiary butyl ether and ethyl tertiary butyl ether.

LyondellBasell plans to sell PO and derivative products from the new Channelview plant to both domestic and global customers, while MTBE and ETBE oxyfuels from the associated Bayport unit will be primarily sold to buyers in Latin America and Asia.

A portion of TBA production, however, will remain in the US market as high-purity isobutylene for use in tires and lubricants, the company said.

Most production from the dual-location project will be exported via the Houston Ship Channel.

Based on an earlier analysis by the Greater Houston Partnership, LyondellBasell said it expects the $2.4 billion PO-TBA project to generate more than $450 million in tax benefits for the county, school district, community college, and other local taxing districts over a 10-year period. The total project will create more than 2,200 construction jobs at the peak of construction and 160 permanent positions.