Oxiteno is targeting operating improvements and a tripling of production at its alkoxylates plant in Pasadena, Texas by 2022, its CEO said on 10 November.
“The plan is to produce around 50 different products which is different from running a commodity plant, so we are gradually increasing the complexity of products there,” said Joao Parolin, CEO of Oxiteno.
“We faced some technical issues that are normal in the first phase of operations but we are on an upward trend in terms of reliability and service to customers,” he added.
Parolin spoke to ICIS on the sidelines of this year’s annual meeting of the Latin American Petrochemical Association (APLA).
When the U.S. plant comprising two reactors started in late 2018, there were high inventories from the pre-marketing of surfactants made in Brazil and Mexico.
However, Oxiteno has been running down those inventories and is now selling US-produced products, he noted. Oxiteno is targeting surfactants production from the plant of 120,000 to 125,000 tonnes by 2022, up significantly from expected production of around 40,000 tonnes in 2019, said the CEO. The plant’s nameplate capacity is 170,000 tonnes/year.
