LyondellBasell Looks to Develop Low-Carbon Business

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) (LYB) (Rotterdam, Netherlands) is focused on developing its Circular & Low Carbon Solutions (CLCS) business, company executives said last week, as it aims to exit the refining business by the end of first-quarter 2025.

"The so-called CLCS business will move our feedstocks away from fossil fuels towards an increasing share of recycled and renewable sources," Chief Executive Officer Peter Vanacker said in LyondellBasell's first-quarter earnings conference call on April 26.

"Our team continues to grow our CLCS business, with LYB building capabilities across the value chain, from upstream plastic waste sourcing to providing recycled and renewable-based polymers that meet the increasing demand from our customers," Vanacker added in an earnings statement.

The company said since 2019, sales volumes from its recycled and renewable-based polymers have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 55%; in addition, LYB said it produced and marketed more than 120,000 tons of those same polymers in 2023.

In the earnings call, Vanacker highlighted the company's efforts to expand its recycling business. Among them is the ongoing construction of LYB's recycling plant in Wesseling, Germany, which is designed to convert pre-treated plastic waste into 50,000 tons per year of pyrolysis oil--a feedstock for new plastic production. The facility will utilize the company's proprietary MoReTec technology, which decomposes polyolefin-based plastic waste to allow for the recycling of a wide range of materials, such as multi-layered food packaging items and mixed plastic containers, according to LyondellBasell. Subscribers can click here to read more information on the project, which is expected to wrap up in 2026.

Vanacker said he expects LYB will make a final investment decision next year for a recycling unit at the site of its 268,000-barrel-per-day Houston Refinery, which the company plans to close no later than the end of first-quarter 2025 as part of its CLCS business. "We are evaluating options for the potential reuse of the hydrotreaters at our Houston Refinery to purify recycled and renewable cracker feedstocks," he said in the call.

The company is evaluating options for the site, which includes the production of clean hydrogen. For more information on the refinery's potential conversion to a hydrogen hub, see March 20, 2023, article - LyondellBasell's Houston Refinery Could Become Home to Hydrogen Hub.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Refining Plant Database can click here for the Houston Refinery plant profile.

LyondellBasell said last week capital expenditures during the first quarter of 2024, including sustaining maintenance and profit-generating growth projects, were $483 million.

Industrial Info is tracking $2 billion worth of active and planned projects for LyondellBasell worldwide. Subscribers to the GMI Database can click here for a full list of detailed project reports.

In terms of LyondellBasell's Chemical Processing segments, the company has started up what it considers to be the world's largest propylene oxide (PO) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) unit: the new PO/TBA unit at its complex in Channelview, Texas. The addition, which will produce 500,000 tons per year of PO and nearly 998,000 tons per year of TBA, will position the company to meet the growing demand for polyurethanes and high-octane, clean-burning oxyfuels. Subscribers can click here for the PO/TBA project report.

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) 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 over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).