Year in Review: A Look at the Ethylene and PDH Activity in 2016

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Over the course of 2016, Industrial Info tracked 39 ethylene unit offline events with a total of 1,061 days of down time. Unplanned outage events played a small role with 26 events totaling roughly 274 offline days. Planned turnaround events accounted for the majority of down time with around 787 days spread over 13 individual units.

The start of the year was relatively calm, with 36 planned and 59 unplanned days of idle time during the first quarter. Exxon Mobil Corporation's (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas) 800 million-pound-per-year (Lb/yr) USC I and 1 billion Lb/yr USC II crackers in Beaumont, Texas, experienced the most notable amount of offline time in which both units were down for 22 days after a power outage affected the entire site.

The second and third quarters of the year were the busiest due to major planned turnarounds kicking off to tie in expansions. The second quarter contributed 385 days of non-operational time in which only 64 of those days were due to unplanned incidents. The third quarter had slightly less down time at 351 days of idle time. ExxonMobil's Beaumont plant accounted for more than half of the 120 unplanned days in the third quarter due to both units at the site being down in tandem after a cooling tower collapsed.

Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) (Houston, Texas) began a planned turnaround in April at its Sulphur, Louisiana plant, which lasted approximately 107 days, and included tie-ins for an expansion that added an estimated 250 million Lbs/yr of capacity to the Petro 1 Ethylene Unit, bringing the unit to 1.5 billion Lbs/yr of production.

LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) (Houston, Texas) also began a planned turnaround in April to perform tie-ins for an expansion at its Corpus Christi, Texas, plant that took longer than expected to complete after 234 days of work. The expansion added an estimated 800 million Lbs/yr to the unit. For related information, see November 2, 2016, article - LyondellBasell Maintenance Puts Crimp in Earnings.

In September, Dow Chemical Corporation (NYSE:DOW) (Midland, Michigan) began its 82-day planned turnaround on the LHC 3 Ethylene Unit located in Plaquemine, Louisiana. Dow also expanded the unit and added roughly 600 million Lbs/yr of capacity to bring the unit to 2.2 billion Lbs/yr of production.

The fourth quarter offered some relief, with 230 of mainly planned down time resulting from the continuing turnarounds from previous months. Unplanned offline time was 34 days and counting as of December 30, depending on LyondellBasell's ongoing unplanned outage at the La Porte, Texas, site.

Ethylene Capital Projects
Other highlights of the year include Shell Chemicals (Houston, Texas) approving a final investment decision to construct its petrochemical complex in Monaca, Pennsylvania, which includes a 3 billion Lb/yr ethylene cracker and derivative units. LACC LLC, a joint venture between Lotte Chemical (Seoul, South Korea) and minority partner Axiall (now owned by Westlake Chemical), has begun construction on its 2.2 billion Lb/yr ethylene unit in Westlake, Louisiana.

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) (Bangkok, Thailand) started construction on the revamp of a formally idled 850 million Lb/yr ethylene plant in Sulphur, Louisiana. Westlake Vinyls (part of Westlake Chemical) started construction on expansion projects that are intended to add 100 million Lbs/yr to the ethylene unit located in Calvert City, Kentucky. For related information, see December 7, 2016, article - Natgas, Transportation Drive Northeast's 2017 Project Kickoffs, June 21, 2016, article - Louisiana Ethane Cracker Leads Third-Quarter 2016 U.S. Chemical Processing Kickoffs, January 8, 2016, article - Indorama Acquisitions Show Chemical Investments Still in Play in U.S. and November 15, 2016, article - Westlake Chemical Focuses on Kentucky Ethylene Expansion.

Propane Dehydrogenation
Propane dehydrogenation (PDH) production had a total of 149 offline days, 52 of which were planned maintenance. Dow Chemical's 1.65 billion Lb/yr PDH unit in Freeport (Oyster Creek), Texas, had a rough start after it came online in December 2015. At the start of 2016, the unit ran into numerous technical problems. However, it is now reportedly running at full rates. For related information, see February 3, 2016, article - Dow Expects 2016 Boost from Texas PDH Plant, Louisiana Enhancements.

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