246
39
th
Annual Report
polypropylene unit, a 300,000 tons/year elastomers unit, an aromatics
extraction unit to produce 340,000 tons/year of benzene, as well as an
oxo-alcohol unit’s expansion by 125,000 tons/year, and construction
of a 220 Mega Watt new power generation unit.
1-2 North America
The united states is witnessing considerable activity, almost all
of which is based on the frenetic pace of shale gas exploration and
production and the prospects for cheap, large volumes of shale gas
as potential feedstock, the following are examples of some most
important projects:
Westlake Chemical Co. announced a plan for increasing ethane-
based ethylene capacity at its plant in Lake Charles, La., in response
to new low-cost ethane and other light NGLs becoming available as
a result of shale gas production.
The project includes expansion of the first ethylene cracker from
567,000 tons/year to 671,000 tons/year, and expansion of the second
unit from 522,000 tons/year to 631,000 tons/year. The project will be
completed at the 2014’s end.
Sasol Ltd. has announced that it might spend as much as $4.5
billion to build an ethylene plant in Louisiana with a capacity of
1-1.4 million tons/year. The company expects to complete the study
by mid 2013.
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company has awarded Shaw Group
Inc. a contract to provide process design for an ethylene plant at its
Cedar Bayou plant in Texas.
Lyondell Basell announced a plan for expanding its two plants, La
Porte and Channelview at Texas, and even building a new one. The
