South Korea’s Lotte Chemical Corp. has let a contract to CB&I, Houston, to execute preliminary services related to construction of an associated monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant to be built next to its joint-venture project with Axiall Corp., Atlanta, for a 1 million-tonne/year ethane cracker in Lake Charles, La. (OGJ Online, Dec. 20, 2013).
CB&I will provide construction planning and reviews, as well as early works services for the proposed MEG unit, which would be built adjacent to the planned cracker, the service company said. A value of the contract was not disclosed.
Lotte Chemical, which would be sole owner of the associated MEG plant, said it would begin a front-end engineering and design study for the potential project last year (OGJ Online, June 18, 2014; Feb. 11, 2014).
In September, LACC LLC, the Axiall-Lotte Chemical JV, let a separate contract to CB&I for additional detailed engineering and early procurement services for the proposed cracker, which, if approved, would use CB&I’s latest ethylene technology, including its highly selective SRT cracking heaters as well as its low-pressure separation, mixed-refrigeration recovery section design (OGJ Online, Sept. 3, 2015).
While LACC continues to evaluate construction of the project, a final investment decision on the project is due by yearend, Axiall says.
At an estimated cost of about $3 billion, the grassroots ethylene plant could enter commercial operation in late 2018 or early 2019, pending permits and other final approvals.
