Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC has successfully completed commissioning and begun start-up of its new polyethylene units at Old Ocean, Texas.
Each unit will produce up to 500,000 metric tons annually to service the ever-increasing global demand for polyethylene. These units can produce a wide variety of polyethylene resin from metallocene LLDPE film to bi-modal film and pipe products, displaying the wide capability of Chevron Phillips Chemical's proprietary MarTech® technology.
"In 2011, Chevron Phillips Chemical was the first to announce a leading-edge $6 billion petrochemicals project to take advantage of the newfound shale gas resources in the United States and I am thrilled we are completing the first phase of the project," said Mark Lashier, president and CEO. "I want to thank the thousands of employees and contractors who worked to build this incredible new asset that will allow us to continue to meet the growing demand of our loyal customer base worldwide."
Chevron Phillips Chemical's world-recognized Marlex® polyethylene resin produced at Old Ocean will be delivered to customers in North America and to strategic transloading facilities across the United States for export to all regions of the world, supporting the dynamic growth seen around the globe by the company and its many MarTech® licenses.
"Abundant shale gas resources are fueling an economic revival that extends across the nation and supports economic growth around the globe. Chevron Phillips Chemical is proud to be a leading contributor to the nation's growing workforce and strengthening the economy," said Lashier.
At peak construction, the U.S. Gulf Coast Petrochemicals Project employed approximately 10,000 contractors devoted to completing not just the polyethylene units at Old Ocean, but also a new world scale ethane cracker being built at the company's existing facilities in Baytown, Texas. The Baytown facility recently experienced flooding as a result of Hurricane Harvey. Chevron Phillips Chemical currently expects to complete construction and begin commissioning the ethane cracker by first quarter 2018 with a transition to full production during second quarter 2018.
