LyondellBasell, Sinopec form JV to build new chemical plant

LyondellBasell Industries NV has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form a 50-50 joint venture with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) to build a new propylene oxide (PO) and styrene monomer (SM) unit it Zhenhai, Ningbo, China.

Intended to satisfy rising demand in China’s domestic market, the proposed plant would produce 300,000 tonnes/year of PO and 600,000 tpy of SM, LyondellBasell said.

If approved, construction of the new unit—which will be equipped with LyondellBasell’s proprietary PO-SM production technology—would begin in early 2020 for scheduled start-up some time in 2022.

This latest MOU for a proposed JV between the operators would be the second LyondellBasell-Sinopec partnership for PO-SM production in Zhenhai, where LyondellBasell 26.65% and Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co. Ltd. (SZRC) 73.35% already jointly own the existing Ningbo ZRCC Lyondell Chemical Co. Ltd. (NZLC), which produces 285,000 tpy of PO and 620,000 tpy of SM alongside SZRC’s refinery, according to NZLC’s website.

LyondellBasell did not disclose a definitive timeframe for when the companies would take final investment decision on the project.

LyondellBasell’s Texas PO project

LyondellBasell also currently is in the process of building what will be the world’s largest PO and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) plant at the company’s Houston-area complex in Channelview, Tex. (OGJ Online, Nov. 11, 2019).

Still on schedule for start-up in 2021, the 140-acre PO-TBA plant 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 LyondellBasell’s Bayport complex near Pasadena, Tex., for conversion into high-octane gasoline components methyl tertiary butyl ether and ethyl tertiary butyl ether.

LyondellBasell said it 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.