BP plans to shut a paraxylene unit at its Texas City, Texas, chemical plant that has been idle for over a year, Reuters reports. BP will lay off 24 hourly and 12 salaried employees as a result of the shutdown. Two other paraxylene units at the 1.4- million-tons-per-day will remain in operation.
BP’s Texas City site buys mixed xylenes from Gulf Coast refineries to manufacture paraxylene and metaxylene. Much of the paraxylene manufactured at Texas City feeds BP’s Cooper River site in South Carolina, where it is used to produce polyester.
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