Ineos Oligomers, a division of Ineos AG, Rolle, Switzerland, is adding a new linear alpha olefin (LAO) unit at Ineos Olefins & Polymers USA’s Chocolate Bayou petrochemical complex in Alvin, Tex.
Ineos, which took final investment decision on the project on May 16, will build the 420,000-tonne/year LAO unit to complement its existing LAO units in Joffre, Alta., and Feluy, Belgium, as part of an aggressive plan to expand its international LAO business, the company said.
The new unit will be based on Ineos Oligomers’ proprietary and differentiated LAO technology and include process technology improvements designed to reduce variable operating costs, according to Joe Walton, business director for Ineos Oligomers.
Originally planned as a 350,000-tpy unit, the larger LAO unit approved for Chocolate Bayou results, in part, from the company’s access to favorable US Gulf Coast ethylene economics, which enables it to fully exploit available economies of scale for the project, added Walton.
The new LAO unit at Ineos’ Chocolate Bayou site—which already houses two ethylene crackers and provides ready access to the USGC ethylene pipeline network—also will be well placed to supply growing USGC polyethylene capacity, as well as provide feedstock to enable the company’s long-term polyalphaolefin (PAO) capacity growth to support demand for high-performance synthetic lubricants, according to Ineos.
With preliminary work to accommodate the new installation already under way at Chocolate Bayou, Ineos said the LAO unit should be ready for startup in November 2018.
The company did not disclose details regarding its planned capital investment for the project.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
