ExxonMobil Chemical Co. has started up production from the first of two 650,000-tonne/year high-performance polyethylene (PE) lines at its plastics plant in Mont Belvieu, Tex. (OGJ Online, May 23, 2017).
ExxonMobil plans to export the first polyethylene shipment from the new unit, which entered service on Oct. 17, from the Port of Houston later this month, the company said.
Once fully commissioned, the new PE lines will increase production capacity at Mont Belvieu by 1.3 million tpy to an overall site capacity of 2.5 million tpy, making it one of the largest PE plants in the world.
At peak production, more than 200 containers of PE will ship from Mont Belvieu daily to help meet growing global demand for high-performance PE products, according to the operator.
Part of a previously announced multibillion dollar expansion project in the Baytown, Tex., area, the polyethylene lines will process ethylene feedstock from the new 1.5 million-tpy steam cracker currently under construction at the company’s Baytown complex (OGJ Online June 19, 2014).
The Baytown-Mont Belvieu projects are part of ExxonMobil’s 10-year, $20-billion “Growing the Gulf” initiative, which includes 11 major chemical, refining, lubricant, and LNG projects along the Texas and Louisiana coasts to expand the company’s existing manufacturing and export capacity.
ExxonMobil, however, did not disclose a timeframe for when it will commission the second new PE line at Mont Belvieu.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].