ChevronPhillips to Start Up Two New PE Units; Braskem to Build Large PP Plant

Two major announcements in new polyolefin capacity were made within the last two months:

● Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. The Woodlands, Texas, has completed construction of two PE units in Old Ocean, southwest of Houston. Scheduled for startup this quarter, each unit will produce over 1-billion lbs/yr. This marks the last stop to a massive expansion. The company had already finished a pipeline and storage system for ethylene and had also built a state-of-the-art rail facility with the capacity to store 1500 rail cars to ship PE pellets to customers around the world. 

● Braskem, U.S. office in Philadelphia, Penn., will construct a nearly 1-billion lb/yr PP plant at its La Porte, Texas site, adjacent to existing PP units, with expected startup in early 2020. This “Delta” line, which will reportedly be the largest PP production line in the Americas, is Braskem’s seventh PP line in the U.S. It will produce homopolymers, random copolymers, impact copolymers and reactor thermoplastic polyolefins.