Formosa to expand Texas site with olefins cracker, PDH and LDPE units

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Formosa Plastics will build a new, grass-roots 800,000 tpy olefins cracker, an associated 600,000 tpy propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit and a 300,000 tpy low density polyethylene (LDPE) resin plant at its site in Point Comfort, Texas. Details on technologies, costs, start-up dates and contractors were not released.

Formosa Plastics will build a new, grass-roots 800,000 tpy olefins cracker, an associated 600,000 tpy propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit and a new 300,000 tpy low density polyethylene (LDPE) resin plant at its site in Point Comfort, Texas, the company said on Monday.

The moves - part of USD1.7 billion in capital investments - are largely based on affordable US natural gas costs for use as feedstock, the company said. They will create an estimated 1,800 construction jobs and, once completed, an additional 225 long-term operating and maintenance jobs.

The olefins cracker will take advantage of the increasingly reliable and low-cost domestic natural gas and supply feedstock both to existing production units and the new LDPE unit, Formosa said.The PDH unit will produce additional propylene, increasing operational flexibility.

Meanwhile, the addition of a LDPE resin plant will complement the company’s existing product line of Formolene polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) and Formolon polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and specialty PVC.