Shell Chemical LP has commissioned its $717-million project to increase alpha olefins (AO) production at its Geismar, La., chemical manufacturing plant along the Mississippi River, about 20 miles south of Baton Rouge (OGJ Online, June 6, 2017; Nov. 30, 2015).
Initially started up in December 2018, the 425,000-tonne/year capacity expansion brings total AO production at Geismar to more than 1.3 million tpy, Royal Dutch Shell PLC said.
Part of Shell’s strategy to further integrate its downstream business, the newly commissioned expansion—which makes Geismar the largest AO production site in the world—is supplied with price-advantaged ethylene feedstock from the operator’s nearby Norco, La., and Deer Park, Tex., manufacturing sites, enabling Geismar to respond to market conditions.
The expansion project, which uses Shell’s proprietary Shell higher olefins process (SHOP) technology, included installation of 3,570 tonnes of steel, 18,290 m of concrete, and 85 linear km of pipe, the company said.
Several new pieces of infrastructure also were built as part of the expansion, including a water-cooling tower, a sizable expansion of the site’s rail loading capabilities, and the repurposing of a previously idled tank farm, the operator said.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
