Blog
07th May 2020
Image Source: Times
Two Asian companies, Thai chemical company PTT Global Chemical America and South Korean partner Daelim Industrial Co., have delayed a decision on whether to proceed with a long-talked-about petrochemical plant for eastern Ohio. The companies cited coronavirus for postponing the decision, which was to be made by July 2020.
Once established, the plant would use ethane and break it down to produce ethylene, used in chemical manufacturing. The country is an attractive site due to the abundance of cheap and plentiful natural gas of the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Image Source: LyondellBasell
On 30th March 2020, LyondellBasell informed the contractors that it would slow the construction of its tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) and propylene oxide (PO) plant in the Gulf Coast due to coronavirus outbreak.
Construction of this plant started in August 2018, with more than 30% complete. The plant is associated with an ethers unit in nearby Pasadena. Annual capacity would be a million tonnes of TBA and 470,000 tonnes of PO.
Image Source: STATEIMPACT PENNSYLVANIA
Shell has announced the decision to temporarily suspend construction at the company’s Beaver County site from March 18, 2020. Construction of this plant started in 2017 and set for completion in the early phase of 2020.
The plant located in Monaca, Pennsylvania, has a new cracker with 1.5 million tonnes of annual capacity of ethylene and 1.6 million tonnes of PE.
Image Source: Methanex Corporation
Methanex Corporation, one of the largest producer and supplier of methanol, has announced that it will defer USD 500 million of planned spending on its Geimer 3 methanol plants for about 18 months. The company had expected to spend USD 800 million by September 2021 on the plant with a production capacity of 1.8 million metric tons.
Before this, Methanox announced that it would idle the Titan plant in Trinidad and its Chile IV plant for an indefinite period. These two plants have an operating capacity of 9.2 million metric tons.
Image Source: NOVA Chemicals
Nova Chemicals, Canada-headquartered chemical firm, has paused construction activities on its expansion plans in its AST2 polyethylene (PE) facility and Corunna cracker expansion projects in Ontario. The expansion plans involved an investment of USD 2 billion to expand capacity on its Corunna cracker in Sarnia and build a 450,000 tonne per year PE plant based on Nova Chemicals’ Advanced Sclairtech technology.
Currently, the company operates four low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) lines with capacities of 1,482 kilo tonne/year and 50,000 tonnes/year high-density polyethylene (HDPE) line in Alberta.
Image Source: Fluor
In response to the ongoing lockdown, the Philippines’ JG Summit Petrochemical Group has rescheduled the startup of its expanded downstream petrochemical units to Q4 2020.
The planned capacity additions include 250 kilo tonne per year HDPE unit, 300 kilo tonne per year PP plant, and 70 kilo tonne per year butadiene extraction unit. New aromatic plants’ startup would also get delayed to Q4 2020. The group had completed a 50% ethylene production expansion to 480 kilo tonne per year in early 2020, together with a 25% increase in propylene capacity to 240 kilo tonne per year.
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