MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global chemical company, has commenced the commercial operations of its olefins gas cracker at Indorama Ventures Olefins (IVOL) plant in Westlake, Louisiana, the USA on 31st January 2020, as per the company's press release.
The site has an ethylene production capacity of 440 kilotons per annum (KTA) and is highly integrated with the US Gulf Coast ethylene pipeline infrastructure for efficient distribution. This cracker is strategically positioned in the US gulf coast and allows to leverage shale gas availability. The facility is strategically positioned for long-term captive ethylene supplies to Indorama Ventures Oxide and Glycols (IVOG) plant in Clear Lake, Texas and the recently acquired integrated EO and PO assets in Port Neches, Texas.
Mr. Tony Barre, Site Director of Indorama Ventures Olefins LLC, commented, "I am very proud of the achievements of our IVOL operating team, who have safely achieved commercial operations and plant has already achieved an operating rate of over 80%."
Mr. Alastair Port, President of Indorama Integrated Oxides and Derivatives, commented, "I am very delighted with the startup of our Gas cracker and are thankful to my colleagues who worked relentlessly. This has been possible with tremendous support and partnership with local authorities and communities."
Mr. Dilip Kumar Agarwal, CEO of PET and Integrated Oxides and Derivatives of Indorama Ventures, said, "This is a significant milestone for IVL and strategic step forward in expanding our North American portfolio and footprint. The new plant is very strategic to the continual growth of IVL’s Integrated Oxides and Derivatives segment, in-line with the company’s strategy. I personally want to thank my colleagues for their tenacious efforts and their safety mindset for the commercial startup of the cracker in Westlake, LA.
We look forward to working with the community of Southwest Louisiana to further enhance the economy, quality of life and ensure it receives the benefits of this investment."
As MRC informed before, although Indorama’s Lake Charles steam cracker was mechanically complete in May, 2019, the plant was not expected to be fully operational until January 2020.
Indorama bought the cracker from Occidental Chemical in 2015 and launched an extensive revamp to increase its capacity to the current level from 370,000 mt/year. OxyChem had shut the cracker in 2001. Originally planned for commissioning in late 2017, the refurbished cracker - jointly owned by IVP (76%) and Singapore-based Indorama Corp. (24%) - is designed to process both ethane and propane feedstock from US shale to produce about ethylene and propylene.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, listed in Thailand, is one of the world's leading petrochemicals producers, a global manufacturing footprint with 59 sites in 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The company's portfolio is comprises necessities and high value-added (HVA) categories of polymers, fibers, and packaging. Indorama Ventures has approx. 24,000 employees worldwide and consolidated revenue of USD10.7 billion in 2018. The company is listed in the Dow Jones Emerging Markets and World Sustainability Indices (DJSI).
MRC