U.S. Petrochemical Firms to Tune Up Key Plants in Third Quarter

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As U.S. petrochemical producers wrestle with the implications of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and their potential effects on consumer demand, many are preparing for maintenance on some of their busiest units, including those for ethylene and its derivatives. Industrial Info is tracking about 50 maintenance-related projects in the U.S. Chemical Processing Industry that are set to begin in the third quarter, with about 70% of the investment attributed to projects in Texas.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 parent companies for maintenance-related projects in the U.S. Chemical Processing Industry slated to kick off from July through September.

Formosa Plastics Group (Livingston, New Jersey) is expected to be the biggest spender on third-quarter maintenance projects, thanks to two projects at its plastics complex in Point Comfort, Texas: an extensive turnaround on the Olefins No. 3 Ethylene Unit, which is expected to run through December, and a 30-day turnaround on the Ethylene Dichloride (EDC) Unit, which likely will be completed before the end of September.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing Project and Plant databases can learn more about Formosa's Point Comfort turnarounds from detailed reports on the ethylene unit and EDC unit, and can learn more about the facility from a detailed plant profile.

Eastman Chemical (Kingsport, Tennessee), another leading investor in third-quarter maintenance, is preparing for two turnarounds at its chemical complex in Longview, Texas: the ethylene unit, which is slated to start at the end of the quarter and run through November, and a monopropylene glycol (MPG) unit, which is expected to run for one or two weeks in August. Subscribers can learn more from detailed reports on the ethylene unit and MPG unit, and can learn more about the facility from a detailed plant profile.

In a recent quarterly earnings-related conference call, Mark Costa, the chief executive officer of Eastman, acknowledged that trade-related issues, including the Trump administration's use of tariffs, were affecting consumer behavior that could hit the industry later in 2025.

"You can certainly see consumer purchases on discretionary items right now increasing: People are buying cars, people are buying blenders, whatever else, because they're worried about the tariffs coming," Costa said. "So, the consumer data would lead you to believe that there's a certain amount of growth going on. But in some sense, you're pulling forward consumer demand from the second half into now."

Jeff Tate, the chief executive officer of Dow Incorporated (Midland, Michigan), echoed those concerns in his company's most recent earnings call: "We still expect demand to be positive for the year. However, the impact from uncertain trade flows could create additional margin pressure for our portfolio--most notably against the one area where we've seen resilience for some time, the North American consumer."

Dow trails only Formosa in its investment in third-quarter maintenance-related petrochemical projects. Its largest is a 45-day turnaround at its Light Hydrocarbons (LHC) 3 Ethylene Unit at its complex in Plaquemine, Louisiana, which likely will be completed by the end of the quarter. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.

LyondellBasell Industries NV (Rotterdam, Netherlands) rounds out the top four companies for maintenance-related kickoffs in the coming quarter with two turnarounds in La Porte, Texas, which sits on the Houston Ship Channel, a hub of the U.S. petrochemical sector: its Syngas and Methanol Plant and the acetyls area at its linear polyethylene oxide (LPO) complex, both of which are expected to run into October. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the syngas/methanol and LPO projects.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of maintenance-related projects in the U.S. Chemical Processing Industry that are set to begin in the third quarter.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).