LyondellBasell Concentrates on Growing PE Exports

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) (Houston, Texas) is concentrating on exporting more polyethylene to Asia and producing more propylene oxide and tertiary butyl alcohol, according to Chief Executive Officer Bob Patel. As such, the chemicals producer sees no immediate need to build a U.S. grassroot ethylene facility, he said at a recent industry conference.

Speaking last week at the Bernstein 33rd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, Patel said the company is moving into a "period where the U.S. will be exporting more polyethylene. We have a presence on the ground, and we are ready to market directly more product from the U.S."

Much of the exports will be aimed at meeting the needs of China's growing middle class, Patel said. LyondellBasell expects to produce roughly 10.5 billion pounds of ethylene derivatives (polyethylene and ethylene oxide) this year, which is 600 million pounds more than what it produced in 2016. Patel said the company is increasing production this year after its plants underwent "extraordinary amount of planned maintenance" in 2016. The company had eight major plant turnarounds in 2016, he said, adding, "Normally we have about three to five."

Capital expenditures have risen as LyondellBasell has focused on operational reliability, he said. Industrial Info is tracking more than $5 billion in active capital projects by LyondellBasell. The company broke ground last month on a 1.1 billion pound-per-year polyethylene unit addition at its complex in La Porte, Texas. Completion is expected in late 2019. For more information, see May 18, 2017, article - In Bustling La Porte, Texas, LyondellBasell Breaks Ground on Polyethylene Plant and Industrial Info's project report.

Patel said he also expects a final investment decision to be made in the next few months on a 1 billion-pound-per-year propylene oxide and 2.2 billion-pound-per-year tertiary butyl alcohol plant at the company's complex in Channelview, Texas. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

The company is benefitting from past brownfield ethylene expansions, which have increased capacity by 20%. Patel said its newly expanded Corpus Christi, Texas, ethylene facility is expected to reach 100% capacity in the next few days. LyondellBasell announced the completion of the 800 million-pound-per-year Corpus Christi expansion in January, increasing capacity there by more than 50% to 2.5 billion pounds per year. For more information, see May 1, 2017, article - LyondellBasell Ramps Up Corpus Christi Ethylene Production, Turns to La Porte Polyethylene Project.

As such, Patel said he sees no immediate need to consider greenfield ethylene plant construction.

He added that he was confident that ethane supplies for U.S. crackers will remain plentiful. According to one estimate, he said, some 400,000 to 500,000 barrels per day of ethane in the natural gas stream is still being rejected in the U.S.

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