Celanese Loses Profits on Harvey, Makes Advances on Texas Plant Expansion

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) (Irving, Texas) reported third-quarter 2017 net earnings of $246 million, compared with $252 million in third-quarter 2016. The company lost profits due the impact of Hurricane Harvey on its Houston-area plants. Industrial Info is tracking more than $1 billion in active Celanese projects.

In a conference call, Chief Executive Officer Mark Rohr said, "All three of our Texas sites--Clear Lake, Bay City and Bishop--were directly affected by the storm. All units were quickly restarted, but logistics disruptions proved to be a challenge. We estimate $11 million in direct expenses and another $20 million to $30 million in lost profit opportunity as a result of the hurricane and flooding."

Industrial Info monitors natural disasters and their effects on industrial facilities with one of our latest PECWeb enhancements, the Disaster Impact Tracker. For more information, see September 12, 2017, article - Industrial Info Introduces Disaster Impact Tracker.

Despite the setback, Rohr said Celanese expected adjusted earnings growth 9% to 13% in 2018, and that the company expected to end 2017 on the higher end of its earnings guidance.

Among the highlights announced for the just-passed quarter was the advancement of the company's vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) expansion at its Clear Lake facility. The project kicked off earlier this year and is expected to be in service by the end of 2018. The project will expand the current production of 300,000 tons per year of VAM to 450,000 tons per year, making it what Celanese claims will be the largest VAM plant in the western hemisphere. Wood Group Mustang Incorporated (Houston, Texas) is performing design engineering work on the project, while Infinity Construction Services LP is acting as general contractor. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Among the largest Celanese projects being tracked by Industrial Info is a planned methanol unit addition at its facility in Bishop, Texas. The project remains in the late planning stage, and Industrial Info forecasts the plant has a medium probability (70%-80%) of being built. While the company has tentatively selected the Bishop site, it is considering other locations. The project would produce approximately 1.3 million metric tons of methanol per year. Celanese hopes to make a final investment decision on the project early next year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Also being tracked by Industrial Info are more than 30 active Celanese maintenance projects with a combined total investment value of more than $53 million. Among these is a maintenance program currently underway at the its plastics and polymers plant in Edmondton, Alberta. The program began in the first quarter of this year and is expected to be wrapped up this quarter. The maintenance included 2- to 5-day maintenance turnarounds each month on one of the facility's five reactor vessels or compounding line. The program will be repeated in 2018, following a similar schedule. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the 2017 and 2018 maintenance programs.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at https://www.industrialinfo.com.