LyondellBasell Looks to Gulf Coast Ethylene Buildout after Rough 2016 Ends on High Note

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Executives at LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) (Houston, Texas) were not surprised to see overall dips in revenues and profits for full-year 2016, given the rough environment in the refining and chemicals markets, but were optimistic about the coming year as the company wrapped up the expansion of an ethylene plant and began site preparations for the construction of another, both in Texas. Industrial Info is tracking $4.32 billion in projects involving LyondellBasell.

Net income was reported to be $3.84 billion, compared with $4.47 billion in 2015; revenues stood at $29.18 billion, a 10.85% decrease. But the company got a boost in the fourth quarter, in which revenues increased almost 10% to $7.75 billion as the global gap between supply and demand for petrochemical supplies began to shrink.

Capital expenditures for 2016 were reported to be $2.24 billion, compared with $1.44 billion in 2015. LyondellBasell is about to begin construction on a $650 million polyethylene plastic plant in La Porte, Texas. The 1.1 billion-pound-per-year, multi-modal polyethylene resin unit would make use of LyondellBasell's proprietary Hyperzone PE technology, a cascade gas phase process that will allow the facility to produce a wide range of high-performance HDPE product, with a lower amount of PE resin per unit produced. For more information, including component specifications and contractor contact information, see Industrial Info's project report.

The company also is evaluating a proposed, $1.6 billion second-phase expansion at La Porte, which would not kick off until fourth-quarter 2020 at the earliest. For more information, including estimated polyethylene capacity, see Industrial Info's project report.

The La Porte activity follows the company's recent completion of an $800 million expansion of its olefins facility in Corpus Christi, Texas. The 800 million-pound-per-year addition, which brings ethylene capacity at the site to 2.5 billion pounds per year, was the final in a series of planned expansions to increase LyondellBasell's U.S. ethylene capacity 20%. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Waiting in the wings is maybe the company's biggest project yet: the $1 billion addition of a propylene oxide and tertiary butyl alcohol unit at its complex in Channelview, Texas. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

"LyondellBasell posted good results for 2016, despite the impact of our heavy planned maintenance schedule and several refining operational upsets," said Bob Patel, the chief executive officer of LyondellBasell, in an earnings conference call. Overall, the global olefins and polyolefins industry benefitted from continued favorable supply and demand balances, while low crude oil and fuel prices adversely impacted refining and oxyfuel margins." He later added: "During the past several months, the industry outlook for 2017 has steadily improved. Healthy U.S. and global economic activity and ethylene project delays have led to an improved forecast for industry supply and demand dynamics."

LyondellBasell's Houston Refinery accounted for some of 2016's losses, incurring maintenance-related downtime and operational problems, particularly in the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, the company recently chose not to sell off the refinery after mulling over its fate for almost a year and a half. Industrial Info is tracking $84.5 million in active projects at the Houston Refinery; for more information, see January 6, 2017, article - LyondellBasell Takes Houston Refinery Off the Selling Block.

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