Odebrecht lets contract for W.Va. cracker
Brazil’s Odebrecht SA has let a contract to Technip to supply its proprietary ethylene technology and process design package (PDP) for a grassroots ethane cracker to be included in Odebrecht’s proposed Appalachian Shale Cracker Enterprise (Ascent) petrochemical complex in Wood County, W.Va. (OGJ Online, Nov. 15, 2013).
Technip’s operating centers in Houston, Claremont, Calif., and Rome, Italy, will execute the initial project phase for the PDP, Technip said.
A value of the contract was not disclosed.
Odebrecht previously awarded a contract to Ineos Technologies Ltd. to provide its proprietary Innovene S and Innovene G technologies to be used for polyethylene (PE) production at the Ascent project (OGJ Online, Oct. 2, 2014).
While Odebrecht already has secured a purchase option on the anticipated Ascent project site in Parkersburg, W.Va., the complex and all related supply agreements remain contingent on Odebrecht reaching final investment and construction decisions following the completion of a multiyear feasibility analysis.
The Ascent complex, which Odebrecht first announced in November 2013, would include an ethane cracker, three PE plants, and associated infrastructure for water treatment and energy cogeneration.
Odebrecht subsidiary Odebrecht Oil & Gas SA earlier this year tapped Antero Resources Inc. to become the anchor ethane supplier for Ascent (OGJ Online, Mar. 28, 2014). Under that agreement, Antero will supply the complex 30,000 b/d of ethane, which represents almost half of the volume required to operate the plant’s planned ethane cracker.
The Ascent project also has secured ethane supplies from Range Resources Corp., according to an August presentation to investors by Odebrecht subsidiary Braskem America, who will be responsible for petrochemical-related activities for the complex, including the marketing of the plant’s PE production.
In addition to securing long-term ethane supply agreements, however, the project’s feasibility also depends on financing, regulatory approvals, and government support, Odebrecht has said.
