ExxonMobil JV completes units at grassroots USGC chemical complex

Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) and ExxonMobil Corp. have reached mechanical completion of major derivatives units at the 50-50 joint venture Gulf Coast Growth Ventures LLC’s (GCGV) 1.8-million tonnes/year (tpy) ethane cracking complex in Portland, San Patricio County, Tex., near Corpus Christi (OGJ Online, Sept. 16, 2019).

With construction of the 1.1-million tpy monoethylene glycol unit and two polyethylene units—originally slated for capacities of 400,000 tpy each—with combined production capacity of 1.3 million tpy, GCGV plans to begin commissioning of the entire project in the fourth quarter, roughly a year ahead of its previously targeted fourth-quarter 2022 startup, ExxonMobil said on July 26.

Announcement of GCGV’s expedited startup schedule follows ExxonMobil’s confirmation in its third-quarter 2020 earnings presentation that the project was under budget and ahead of schedule amid an improved cost environment, as well as ExxonMobil’s implementation of cost-cutting efficiencies and formation of a dedicated global projects division ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Details regarding the status of construction on the complex’s ethane cracker have yet to be confirmed.

ExxonMobil and SABIC formed GCGV in 2018 to take advantage of the USGC’s existing infrastructure to capture competitive pricing for US natural gas feedstock and access to rising demand for ethylene-based products in overseas export markets (OGJ Online, May 7, 2018).

Alongside forming part of SABIC’s growth strategy to build petrochemical installations in key markets—including the Americas—to address industry demand and achieve the company’s 2025 strategy, the proposed multibillion GCGV project also is one of the developments included as part of ExxonMobil’s 10-year, $20-billion Growing the Gulf expansion initiative announced in early 2017 (OGJ Online, Mar. 9, 2017).