Bayport Polymers LLC (Baystar), the 50/50 joint venture owned by Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc. (TPRI) and Novealis Holdings LLC — itself a joint venture co-owned by Borealis AG (Vienna, Austria; www.borealisgroup.com) and NOVA Chemicals Inc. (www.novachem.com) — held its official groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new 625,000 metric ton-per-year Borstar polyethylene unit at its production site in Pasadena, Texas, with an anticipated startup in 2021.
The state-of-the-art Borstar technology, which will be used in North America for the first time, will allow Baystar to produce enhanced polyethylene products for the most demanding applications. Approximately 1,750 jobs will be created during the peak engineering and construction activity.
Baystar is also building a one-million-ton per year steam cracker in Port Arthur, Texas. The new cracker will process ethane, which is abundantly available and competitively priced in the U.S., and will supply feedstock for its existing 400,000-ton-per-year polyethylene units as well as the new Borstar polyethylene unit in Pasadena.
“This new Borstar unit will more than double the site’s capacity and allow Baystar to provide our North American customers with a greater range of high-value-added and resource-efficient products,” said Baystar President Diane Chamberlain. “The Port Arthur cracker and the new Borstar unit are tangible evidence of the power of partnership between Total, Borealis and NOVA Chemicals.”