Sasol on Friday broke ground on its $9 billion ethane cracker project near Westlake, La. The facility, which is expected to begin operating in 2018, will produce approximately 1.5 million tons of ethylene per year. Sasol began early works activities, site preparation and civil construction work last year and will begin aboveground work and heavy equipment deliveries in 2015. Mechanical, electrical and instrumentation work is expected to follow in 2016 and 2017.
Sasol said the project would create more than 5,000 construction jobs and more than 500 full-time positions.
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