Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. (MHIA; Houston; www.mitsubishitoday.com), a fully owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI; Tokyo), has completed the construction of a large-scale two-train polyethylene (PE) plant in the U.S. The construction order was placed in 2014 by ExxonMobil Chemical Co., an affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corp. specializing in petrochemical products.
The plant will be able to produce 1.3 million ton/yr of PE per year and is situated near an existing plant operated by ExxonMobil in Mont Belvieu, Texas. It is equipped to perform reaction processing, final finishing, packaging, and shipment.
MHI Group is also constructing a large-scale PE plant at ExxonMobil’s petrochemical complex in Beaumont, Texas, representing the third PE plant project conducted by MHI Group for ExxonMobil. The first PE plant was installed at ExxonMobil’s Singapore complex in 2011.
The U.S. is currently experiencing a buoyant market for chemical plants, driven by expanding production of shale gas. In April 2016, MHIA relocated its headquarters from New York to Houston, where many chemical plant-related customers are concentrated. In January 2017, MHIA also established a new Oil & Gas Division to oversee business development in this field. Through these activities, MHI will continue to strengthen its relationship with its customers as it moves steadily forward in developing the North American market for chemical plants.