Louisiana Ethane Cracker Leads Third-Quarter 2016 U.S. Chemical Processing Kickoffs

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Led by a 1 million metric ton-per-year ethylene unit Louisiana, the U.S. could see third-quarter 2016 construction kickoffs for Chemical Processing Industry capital projects worth $5.73 billion, according to Industrial Info's project database. In fact, Louisiana leads the rest of the states in chemical project kickoffs, but a couple of potential fertilizer project kickoffs put Indiana in the number two position.

More than $3.6 billion in third-quarter project kickoffs are the engineering phases, while more than $2.1 billion is tied to projects in the planning phases, where plenty of factors could still alter their outcome.

Click the icon at right for a graph detailing U.S. Chemical Processing project kickoffs by market region.

The Southwest market region, which includes Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, is home potential third-quarter kickoffs for projects with a combined value of more than $3.2 billion. LACC Limited Liability Company, the joint-venture company formed by Axiall Corporation (NYSE: AXLL) and Lotte Chemical Corporation (Seoul, South Korea), held a groundbreaking ceremony June 14 for the ethane cracker project in Westlake, Louisiana. Ethylene from the unit will feed Lotte's planned 700,000 ton-per-year ethylene glycol unit--to be located next door--and Axiall's process operations at the site. The ethylene unit addition has a total investment value of $2 billion, according to Industrial Info's project database.

Together, the ethylene and ethylene glycol facilities are expected to create more than 200 direct jobs and over 1,800 indirect jobs in the community, according to LACC. In addition, an estimated 2,000 temporary construction jobs are expected to be created during the project. The cracker is expected to start up in early 2019. Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) (Houston, Texas), which plans to acquire Axiall for $3.8 billion, has said it looks forward to working with Lotte on the project. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report and June 14, 2016, article - Westlake Chemical Looks to More Long-term Ethylene Opportunities after Axiall Acquisition.

Led by two fertilizer-related projects, the Great Lakes region comes in second place at $1.9 billion. Part of a planned fertilizer complex in Mount Vernon, Indiana, the two projects are each valued at $900 million. With plans going back to 2012, the projects have seen a number of delays. Midwest Fertilizer Corporation (Delaware), part of Fatima Fertilizer (Lahore, Pakistan), said in January this year it had entered into an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement with thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (USA), Incorporated, part of ThyssenKrupp AG (Essen, Germany). Natural gas supply via a lateral pipeline project was seen as critical to the complex's operations. The fertilizer plant is expected to generate more than 2,500 construction jobs and about 200 permanent jobs, according to Midwest Fertilizer Corporation. Completion is presently set for first-quarter 2019. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report. The Great Lakes region also includes Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Other top third-quarter 2016 chemical processing project kickoffs include:

• $100 million: Oxiteno USA LLC's Ethoxylate Surfactants Unit Expansion in Pasadena, Texas
  For more information on the project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $100 million: The Chemours Company LLC's Hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) Unit Addition in Corpus Christi, Texas
  For more information on the project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $100 million: Formosa Plastics Corporation USA's Olefins Unit 1 Furnace Addition in Point Comfort, Texas
  For more information on the project, see Industrial Info's project report.

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