U.S. Petrochemical Sector Preps for Maintenance on Busiest Units

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Major players in the U.S. petrochemical sector are preparing for maintenance turnarounds at some of their biggest facilities in the third quarter of 2023, to ensure quality output of heavily demanded products such as ethylene, propylene and their derivatives. Industrial Info is tracking about 50 maintenance-related projects at U.S. petrochemical facilities that are set to kick off in the third quarter, totaling nearly $270 million in value. More than half of the investment is attributed to projects from Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) and Dow Incorporated (NYSE:DOW) (Midland, Michigan).

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 companies for maintenance-related petrochemical project investment in the third quarter, by total investment value.

Chevron leads among parent companies in the estimated total investment value for its third-quarter maintenance, including at one of its most closely watched facilities: the Cedar Bayou Olefins & Resins complex in Baytown, Texas. Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (CPChem) (The Woodlands, Texas), which is a joint venture between Chevron and Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) (Houston, Texas), has scheduled inspections and repairs to its 3.3 billion-pound-per-year ethylene unit. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing Project Database can read more in a detailed project report.

Chevron Phillips also is planning a third-quarter turnaround for the specialty chemicals area at its facility in Borger, Texas. This area includes a unit that produces methyl mercaptan, which is used in the production of plastics and jet fuels, as well as pesticides and animal feed. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

LyondellBasell (NYSE:LYB) (Rotterdam, Netherlands), another major player on the Texas Gulf Coast, is planning a multi-unit turnaround for Plant No. 2 at its complex in Pasadena, Texas. The plant produces 155 million pounds per year of propylene glycol and 233,000 tons per year of propylene oxide (PO), as well as tertiary-butyl alcohol (TBA). Subscribers can read more in Industrial Info's detailed project report.

Companywide, LyondellBasell is planning a heavy maintenance schedule across its PO assets in 2023, as the company expects demand for the product to grow substantially in the coming years. "We believe propylene oxide from our PO/TBA technology has a lower carbon footprint relative to the most widely used PO technologies," said Peter Vanacker, the chief executive officer of LyondellBasell, in a recent quarterly earnings-related conference call. "And our cost of production is the lowest in the world."

Dow Chemical Company trails only Chevron in its quarterly maintenance investment. The industry stalwart is set to perform major inspections and repairs to its 1.425 billion-pound-per-year ethylene unit at its St. Charles Taft Petrochemicals complex in Hahnville, Louisiana. Other units at St. Charles produce acrylic acid, polyethylene resins and propylene. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's detailed project report.

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 reports for maintenance-related projects that are set to kick off at petrochemical facilities across the U.S. 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).