Sasol fully commissions Louisiana petrochemical complex

Sasol Ltd. has completed full startup of its Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP), an integrated ethane cracker and downstream derivatives complex under progressive commissioning since 2019 in Westlake, La., near Lake Charles (OGJ Online, Jan. 30, 2020; Aug. 30, 2019; Dec. 17, 2019).

The LCCP’s low-density polyethylene (LDPE) unit—the project’s seventh and final unit—reached beneficial operation on Nov. 15 to complete 100% commissioning of the complex, the total capital expenditure on which remains in the company’s previously communicated guidance of $12.8 billion, Sasol said on Nov. 16.

Equipped with processing technology from ExxonMobil Corp., the 420,000-tonnes/year LDPE unit—which was damaged in a fire during initial commissioning in January 2020—is one of three LCCP units included in Sasol’s recently announced $2-billion partnership with LyondellBasell Industries NV, under which LyondellBasell will acquire 50% interest and operatorship of LCCP’s 1.54-million tpy ethane cracker, 471,000-tpy linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) unit, LDPE unit, and associated infrastructure (OGJ Online, Oct. 19, 2020).

“This milestone safely brings our [LCCP] to a close and sets the stage for the next step in the evolution of our chemicals business,” said Fleetwood Grobler, Sasol’s president and chief executive officer.

“The completion of [the LDPE] unit and its impending transition to our joint venture with LyondellBasell will accelerate our transformation to a more specialty chemicals-focused company with a strong presence of base chemicals in our portfolio,” Grobler added.

In announcing startup of the LDPE unit, Sasol also confirmed all LCCP units operating before August 2020’s Hurricane Laura have returned to normal operation, with no operational impacts to the site stemming from recent Hurricane Zeta.

As part of its JV with LyondellBasell—which, scheduled to close by yearend 2020, will operate under the name Louisiana Integrated PolyEthylene JV LLC—Sasol will retain full ownership and operational control of its Lake Charles Research and Development complex, the 460,000-tpy Lake Charles East Plant ethane cracker and US performance chemicals business assets in Lake Charles—which produce Ziegler alcohols and alumina, ethoxylates, Guerbet alcohols, paraffins, comonomers, linear alkyl benzene, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol—as well as access to competitively priced on-site ethylene to ensure value-chain integration.