Formosa Progresses on Point Comfort Chemical Expansion, Plans Loom for Louisiana

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--To say Formosa Plastics Corporation USA (Livingston, New Jersey) has a full petrochemical project plate in Texas and Louisiana would be something of an understatement. Industrial Info is tracking more than $14 billion in project activity by the U.S. arm of Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Corporation.

Click on the image at right for comparison of Formosa's potential investments in Texas and Louisiana.

In Texas, Formosa Plastics is well underway with a big expansion at its Point Comfort, Texas, complex, valued at more than $5.1 billion.

Construction of the 2.65-billion-pound-per-year Olefins 3 Ethylene Unit expansion at Point Comfort began in early 2015, with completion expected in fourth-quarter 2018. Formosa Plastics is working with Clark Constructors LLC (Point Comfort) on the civil construction and Cajun Industries, LLC (Baton Rouge) on structural construction, among other firms. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report and April 4, 2018, article - Formosa Plastics Still Set to Complete Point Comfort Olefins Project this Year.

The Point Comfort expansion also includes a 1 billion-to-1.2 billion-pound-per-year ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol (EO/EG) unit, an 881-million-pound-per-year low density polyethylene (LDPE) unit, and a 525,000-pound-per-year polyethylene unit. See Industrial Info's project reports for the EO/EG, the LDPE and the polyethylene units.

In the late engineering stage at Point Comfort is an 876,000-pound-per-year polypropylene train, while several debottlenecks are in the planning stages. For more on the polypropylene train, see Industrial Info's project report.

Big Plans in Louisiana

Late last year, Formosa Plastics announced plans to expand production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin at its plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The expansion would increase annual production capacity by 300 million pounds, with an expected start-up in 2020. Construction is expected to begin in early 2019. The production train will include two new reactors, two blowdown tanks a stripping column and a dryer. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

But the project is only a small part of Formosa Plastics' plans for the Pelican State.

In St. James Parish, Industrial Info is tracking $9.4 billion in potential investments tied to Formosa's planned grassroot petrochemical complex in Gramercy.

Still in the permitting stage, Phase I of the St. James Parish complex would kick off construction in the second quarter of 2019, with completion in late 2022. Phase I comprises a 2.5 billion-pound-per-year ethylene unit and downstream derivative units, including an 882,000-pound-per-year linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) unit, an 882,000-pound-per-year high density polyethylene unit and a 1.3 billion-pound-per-year propane dehydrogenation unit, among others. Permitting is expected to continue through August this year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

But that's not all. Phase II of the complex is under evaluation. Construction would kick off in mid-2021, with completion in first-quarter 2025. It would include construction of a 2.6 billion-pound-per-year ethylene unit and a downstream 1.9 billion-pound-per-year ethylene glycol unit, along with additional LDPE and high density polyethylene units. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

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.