(process-worldwide) -- US petrochemical specialists CB&I will work on the capacity expansion of an ethylene steam cracker plant in Lousiana. The USD300 million contract covers engineering and technology licenses.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana/USA - CB&I will provide engineering works for a capacity expansion of an ethylene facility in Geismar, Louisiana. The USD300 million contract between the engineering firm and plant operator Williams Olefins includes the licence and basic engineering for the ethylene technology, the supply of the cracking furnaces, and the detailed engineering, procurement and construction of the expansion project.
After the expansion, the facility's capacity shall be increased to a total of 1.95 billion pounds per year (from 1.35 billion pounds per year today).
Williams Olefins president and CEO Philip K. Asherman said, "The petrochemicals market is re-emerging in the US due to the abundance of lower cost ethane feedstock, directly attributable to increased shale gas production."
Ethylene, produced via steam cracking, is used as a primary building block by chemical industries to produce various products such as plastics, fibres and rubbers. Apart form the ethylene unit, Williams Olefins has a light-end natural-gas-liquids (NGL) cracker with current capacity of 37,000 barrels per day of ethane and 3,000 barrels per day of propane at the site.