U.S. Chemical Producers Plan Maintenance as Output Accelerates

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Chemical Processing Industry is expected to see solid growth through the end of 2022, according to a recent report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC). But the trade group warns supply-chain issues and inflation could hinder capacity growth. This likely means chemical producers will need to keep their existing facilities in the best shape. Industrial Info is tracking more than $580 million in maintenance-related projects at U.S. chemical plants that are set to kick off in the third quarter, with petrochemical and plastic/rubber units driving about 60% of the total.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing maintenance-related projects at U.S. chemical plants that are set to begin from July through September, by industry sector.

The ACC expects the U.S. Chemical Processing Industry to see solid growth through the end of 2022, based on strong demand across several end markets, rebuilt inventories, and a competitive advantage in natural gas-based feedstocks. The trade group predicts total domestic chemical output will rise 4.1% this year, following a 1.6% growth in 2021. The strongest growth is attributed to bulk petrochemicals and organics, plastic resins and inorganic chemicals, which are expected to drive basic chemicals production up 4.3%.

Texas far outpaces every other U.S. state in petrochemical unit turnarounds in the coming quarter. These include the single highest-valued maintenance project, Dow Chemical's (NYSE:DOW) (Midland, Michigan) LHC-7 Ethylene Unit at Plant B in Freeport. The unit produces 1.61 billion pounds per year of light hydrocarbons. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing Project Database can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

Louisiana usually is second to Texas in quarterly maintenance-related investments at chemical plants, but Alabama edged out the Pelican State for the total investment value of turnarounds in third-quarter 2022. The bulk of the spending is attributed to Indorama Corporation's (Jakarta, Indonesia) NDC area turnaround at its cyclic organics plant in Decatur. The unit produces napthalenedicardoxylic (NDC) acid, which is used in polyesters and resins to make such items as LCD flat-panel displays and data storage tape. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

Texas and Louisiana, however, account for more than 70% of the maintenance-related spending in the plastic/rubber sector, thanks to big-ticket turnarounds from major companies such as Formosa Plastics Corporation's USA (Livingston, New Jersey), ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas) and LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) (Rotterdam, Netherlands).

Formosa is preparing for a turnaround on its Polypropylene 1 Unit at its plastics plant in Point Comfort, Texas; the unit comprises four lines with a combined capacity of 1.4 billion pounds per year of polypropylene resins. ExxonMobil's plastics plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which produces 1.08 billion pounds per year of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and 200 million pounds per year of ethylene elastomers, is preparing for a turnaround that will last through the end of the year, while LyondellBasell's Lake Charles Polyolefins Plant in Westlake, Louisiana, is preparing for maintenance on three lines that produce a combined 1.69 billion pounds per year of polypropylene. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Point Comfort, Baton Rouge and Westlake projects.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI database can click here for a list of projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a list of related plants.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of maintenance-related projects at U.S. chemical plants that are set to begin from July through September.

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) platform 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 more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).