Chevron Phillips Chemical is taking ambitious steps to grow its chemicals output with two world-class projects.
CPChem, the joint venture between Phillips 66 and Chevron, announced in December a final investment decision with QatarEnergy to build an $8.5 billion integrated polymers facility along the U.S. Gulf Coast. And to kick off 2023, the same partners said they are moving ahead on a $6 billion integrated olefins and polyethylene complex in Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar.
Together, both projects will allow CPChem and QatarEnergy to meet growing global demand for polyethylene. What’s more, they will “improve the quality of life for the world’s growing global population,” said CPChem President and CEO Bruce Chinn.
Gulf Coast facility will produce essential feedstock and polyethylene
The companies sanctioned the Gulf Coast project and created a JV company, Golden Triangle Polymers Company LLC, named for the Golden Triangle region of Texas that includes the community of Orange, where the plant will be located.
Once operational in 2026, the plant will include a 4.6 billion pounds per year ethane cracker and two 2.2 billion pounds per year high-density polyethylene units. An ethane cracker converts ethane into ethylene, which is used to produce polyethylene. Polyethylene is a building block of durable goods like pipe for natural gas and water delivery and recreational products such as kayaks and coolers. It is also used in packaging to preserve food and keep medical supplies sterile. CPChem owns a 51% equity share in the JV, and QatarEnergy owns 49%.
Ras Laffan petrochemical plant will be one of Middle East’s largest
The Ras Laffan project will consist of the Middle East’s largest ethane cracker to produce 4.6 billion pounds per year of ethylene and two trains that will produce a combined 3.7 billion pounds of high-density polyethylene products, the largest polyethylene plant ever built on a single site in the Middle East.
The new facility is scheduled to start production in late 2026. CPChem owns a 30% share, while QatarEnergy owns the remainder.
“Both projects will sit on top of the most advantaged ethane on the planet, and they will sit on top of the most competitive infrastructure on the planet,” Phillips 66 President and CEO Mark Lashier said at the company’s Investor Day in November.
