The project includes construction of an ethane cracker at Chevron’s Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown and two polyethylene units at a site in Old Ocean, near the company’s Sweeny plant.
Chevron has awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to a joint venture between JGC (USA) and Fluor Enterprises to implement the 1.5 million metric tonnes per year ethane cracker portion of the project.
Gulf Coast Partners, a partnership between Technip USA and Zachry Industrial, have secured the EPC contract to construct the polyethylene facilities.
Each polyethylene facility will have a production capacity of 500,000 metric tonnes per year.
The polyethylene units will produce a variety of high and linear low density polyethylene products including bimodal and metallocene-based polyethylene polymers.
The facilities will incorporate Chevron’s metallocene technology and Advanced Dual Loop bimodal technology.
In August 2013, Chevron secured the cracker’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greenhouse gas permit and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) air permits necessary to commence construction of both facilities.
Construction is anticipated to commence in early 2014 with startup scheduled for 2017.
