Exxon Chemical Co. is pressing its petrochemical expansion program in Europe.
The company confirmed plans for expansion of its Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon, France, steam cracker to 400,000 metric tons/year from 315,000 tons/year. Propylene capacity at the complex will rise by 50,000 tons/year to 270,000 tons/year.
The company also plans to build a 140,000 ton/year polypropylene plant at the complex using feedstock from the cracker.
Total spending at the site will be about $200 million.
Exxon said the cost of boosting the cracker and propylene capacity will be about half the cost of equal capacity in grassroots plants.
The projects follow announcements of new investment at Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon at the end of last year. Exxon, in a joint venture with Royal Dutch/Shell Group, announced plans to build a 220,000 ton/year linear low density polyethylene plant and a 140,000 ton/year propylene plant.
Exxon Chemical also recently disclosed a project to recover 50,000 tons/year of chemical grade propylene at the Esso refinery in Ingolstad, West Germany, and a similar 30,000 ton/year project at the Esso refinery at Fos, southern France.
Exxon Chemical operates two other steam crackers in Europe, at Fawley on the south coast of England and at Mossmorran in Fife, Scotland.
With completion of the projects in France and Germany and expansion of the Fife plant, which is under study, Exxon Chemical will have access in Europe to total ethylene capacity of 950,000 tons/year and more than 500,000 tons/year of propylene capacity.
Copyright 1990 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
