LyondellBasell (Rotterdam, The Netherlands; www.lyondellbasell.com) has received a key permit required in the company’s multi-plant ethylene expansion program which, when fully operational, is expected to increase annual ethylene capacity by an estimated 840,000 metric tons per yer (m.t./yr) for a total estimated capacity of around 5.35 million m.t./yr in North America.
The ethylene expansion program began in 2013 and represents a total investment of approximately $1.3 billion in the company’s Channelview, La Porte and Corpus Christi, Texas plants which benefit from shale gas production.
On April 16, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final greenhouse gas permit for the Corpus Christi project. The permit is the first to be drafted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and issued by EPA under a new program designed to help improve permitting efficiency and productivity for applicants in the State of Texas.
The required plant modifications are well underway at the La Porte facility and are scheduled to be completed this summer. Start-up at the Channelview plant is planned for early 2015. Construction at Corpus Christi is expected to begin during the second half of this year with start-up scheduled for late 2015.