INEOS’ Clinton trusts 4 key elements to operational success

Communication, situational leadership, consistency and business and technical acumen are the differences between an average and a great performing operation, according to the site director at INEOS Oligomers La Porte, Texas, plant, Christopher Clinton.

"Gaps in communication within an organization are one of the most persistent issues I’ve encountered," Clinton said. "Not all people and situations can be managed the same way. It’s a bit of an art to be able to find the right balance and it’s a constant effort to get it right.

"A site leader needs to have strong business acumen and full understanding of how different functions work together at this level role. I have found this to be important to provide perspective to team members who may not appreciate everything which happens within an organization."

In his role, which he was appointed to in 2022, Clinton is responsible for overall asset management, including daily operations, maintenance and engineering, HSE, logistics, process engineering and quality assurance.

Privately-owned INEOS was founded in 1998 and recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Clinton said the company has seen massive growth in recent years due to a number of acquisitions and organic build investments, and the oligomers business is one of the longstanding businesses for INEOS.

The La Porte site makes several different grades of polyalphaolefin (PAO) for various markets. PAOs are essential in the production of high-performance synthetic lubricants, with wide ranging applications from automobiles to wind turbines.

The facility is making plans to increase the capacity of high-viscosity PAO production in the near future to meet impending market needs.

Clinton said the La Porte site has a strong record for safety performance, with no OSHA recordable incidents since 2009.

"I believe a large part of this success is the plant staff who work tirelessly to ensure we have and execute practices which are consistent with this desired outcome. Additionally, our plant culture is extremely safety centric. Sometimes this means we need to make an investment to address an issue," he said.

"Other times we may need to temporarily shut down a process to resolve a safety concern. We also have a behavioral-based safety program to keep people engaged and people genuinely look out for one another. Lastly, INEOS is strong in asset management and ensuring we design and operate our equipment in the safest state possible."

Clinton said his most significant challenge as a plant manager was the hard-hitting Winter Storm Uri in 2021, which was difficult but also provided an opportunity for growth. His team had to work together in different ways, and the facility made a number of improvements to infrastructure and processes, which helped to prevent a recurrence of a similar future risk.

He said a priority moving forward is keeping his leadership team focused.

"We have performed relatively well on the fundamentals of working safely, producing a quality product, delivering consistently to customers and controlling costs," Clinton said.

"However, this success can lead to a level of complacency which can put future performance at risk. The second challenge is our upcoming efforts to increase capacity for our High Viscosity PAO asset. Larger projects always present specific challenges and this will not be any different."

The plant maintains a community presence in several ways, Clinton said. The site is represented by various staff members in local activities such as the La Porte Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and the La Porte Educational Foundation. Site employees have also participated in several recent community events, including the Adventures in STEM Festival at San Jacinto College and La Porte Hazardous Waste Day.

INEOS Oligomers recently joined the Partners in Education program for La Porte Independent School District, partnering with Lomax Junior High School. Many members of the La Porte team also support the INEOS ICAN Foundation, which has a mission to give kids a chance to grow up healthier and better educated.

"We believe it is critical to be a good neighbor and an active community participant," Clinton said.

Recognizing the importance of networking with industry peers, Clinton is the liaison for the La Porte LEPC Plant Managers Network, which allows the local site leaders to have a line of communication on various topics.

Clinton, who has been in the industry for 22 years, holds a degree in chemical engineering from Howard University and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. He previously worked at Lubrizol, holding roles in process engineering, supply chain, strategic planning, operations and site management. His first professional job was as a process development engineer in Lubrizol’s pilot plant, where he learned how to scale up chemical reactions from a lab setting to large-scale manufacturing.

He is active in several industry and community organizations, sitting on the board of directors for the La Porte Education Foundation and as a former director for the La Porte Bayshore Chamber of Commerce.

"My main reasoning to get involved was to give back to the community and learn a little bit more about our industry and community," Clinton said. "My time is limited due to having two young children at home, but I wanted to make the most of the time I do have available presently."

Securing the future of the plant site and keeping up with trends in the industry is also important to Clinton.

"My goals for the site are aligned with the two primary site goals: securing our future and maintaining our right to operate. Securing our future specifically focuses on initiatives which will support future needs in terms of capacity, siting and asset flexibility. Maintaining our right to operate covers the fundamental needs of the site, what I commonly refer to in team discussions as ‘blocking and tackling.’

"While the traditional markets of PAO should continue to be a viable outlet for our products, newer markets continue to develop which presents new opportunities for our site and ultimately our business."

Lately, such opportunities for the ever-growing company have been at the forefront of industry news. As one of the world’s largest chemical producers, INEOS has made recent acquisition and expansion announcements, including the $700 million acquisition of LyondellBasell’s Bayport Underwood Plant in Pasadena, Texas. The agreement includes the 420k mt ethylene oxide plant, the 375k mt ethylene glycols plant and the 165k mt glycol ethers plant, together with all associated onsite third-party business with a target completion for Q2 of this year.

INEOS also completed a deal in December 2023 with Eastman Chemical Company to purchase the Eastman Texas City site in Texas City, Texas, including the 600k mt acetic acid plant and all associated onsite third-party activities, for approximately $500 million.

"I am excited about the future of our company and this industry," added Clinton upon reflection of the company’s abounding prospects.

For more information, visit ineos.com.

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