Chevron Phillips Chemical to Expand its Linear Alpha Olefins Business with a New On-Purpose 1-Hexene Unit
- 07-May-2021 1:00 PM
- Journalist: Robert Hume
On 5th May 2021, Chevron Phillips Chemical revealed plans to expand its alpha olefins business by building a second world-scale unit to produce on-purpose 1-Hexene which is slated to come online by 2023.
The new 266 KTPA unit will be built in Old Ocean, Texas in close proximity to Chevron’s Sweeny facility. The proposed plant location is expected to provide the company with additional flexibility in its operations and production levels to meet anticipated demand from the customers while establishing room for continued future growth. The project is expected to support 600+ construction jobs and more than 50 full-time positions.
Mitch Eichelberger, Executive Vice President of polymers and specialties said, “As global PE demand continues to grow, this project demonstrates Chevron Phillips Chemical’s commitment to expand with customer needs and remain a leading 1-Hexene supplier.”
The expansion project will be using an on-purpose technology to produce exceptional-purity co-monomer grade 1-Hexene from Ethylene. The technology is the latest evolution of the company’s proprietary. The new plant will be integrating maximum production through optimizing resource management while keeping a tab on the emission levels. In its annual reports, the company has been highly vocal and active about its sustainability strategy and resource efficiency and reduced emission levels comes as a next step in its goal to achieve sustainability.
Along with the proposed plan, CP Chem also operates two full-range alpha olefins units and the world largest on-purpose 1-Hexene unit at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas.
1-Hexene plays a critical role in the production of high-performance polyethylene. It is usually obtained as a co-product from Ethylene trimerization process. The plastic resin is highly versatile in its applications in agricultural, packaging film manufacturing and rigid containers for different daily use products.
About Chevron Phillips Chemical
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, LLC is a petrochemical company jointly owned by Chevron Corporation and Phillips 66. The company was formed on July 1, 2000 by merging the chemicals operations of both Chevron Corporation and Phillips Petroleum Company. CP Chem is headquartered in Woodlands, Texas USA.
