Chevron Phillips lets contract for new unit at Old Ocean

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP (CPChem), a joint venture of Chevron Corp. and Phillips 66, has let a contract to S&B Engineers and Constructors Ltd. to build a grassroots on-purpose 1-hexene plant near the operator’s Sweeny petrochemical complex in Old Ocean, Tex. (OGJ Online, June 1, 2021).

As part of the contract, S&B will deliver engineering and construction (EC) on the new 1-hexene unit that—equipped with CPChem’s proprietary technology—will use a feedstock of ethylene to produce 266,000 tonnes/year of high-purity, comonomer-grade 1-hexene, a critical component used in producing polyethylene (PE), the service provider said on June 22.

S&B, which also provided EC services for CPChem’s first 1-hexene plant at its Cedar Bayou chemical complex in Baytown, Tex., did not disclose a value of the Sweeny contract (OGJ Online, Apr. 2, 2012).

Scheduled for startup in 2023, the planned Old Ocean 1-hexene project comes as part of CPChem’s program to help meet customers’ needs as global PE demand continues to grow, the operator said upon announcing the project in late May.

To be equipped with the latest advances in process design for maximum production, optimized resource efficiency, and reduced emissions in line with the company’s long-term sustainability strategy, the Old Ocean unit will join CPChem’s current operation of the world’s largest on-purpose 1-hexene plant at the Cedar Bayou chemical complex (OGJ Online, June 13, 2014).

Following commissioning of the Old Ocean plant, CPChem said it will have a total US 1-hexene capacity of 650,000 tpy.