HOUSTON and LONDON, July 29,
2016 /PRNewswire/ -- LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB), one of
the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies, has
made the final investment decision to build a High Density
Polyethylene (HDPE) Plant on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The plant will
have an annual capacity of 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons)
and will be the first commercial plant to employ LyondellBasell's
new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology. The project
is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs at the peak of construction
and as many as 75 permanent positions. Start-up is planned for
2019.
"Innovation is key to our future success. This new
proprietary technology will have the capability to produce a wide
range of HDPE products with enhanced properties, many of which have
the potential to exceed industry benchmarks," said Bob Patel, LyondellBasell's CEO.
HDPE is used in numerous applications such as pipe, bottles,
containers, toys, film, healthcare articles, plastic fuel tanks and
industrial packaging. LyondellBasell's Hyperzone PE
enhanced properties include improved stress crack resistance and
enhanced balance between stiffness and impact
strength.
The Hyperzone PE technology is a cascade gas phase
process based on LyondellBasell's unique Multizone circulating
reactor technology and was developed at LyondellBasell's European
research and development centers located in Frankfurt, Germany, and Ferrara, Italy.
The new proprietary technology will have the capability to produce
a wide range of high-performance multi-modal HDPE products. In
certain applications, Hyperzone PE resins allow customers to
use less PE resin per unit produced, resulting in improved resource
efficiency and savings for customers. While the
Hyperzone PE plant will be located on the U.S. Gulf Coast,
the products produced will serve markets across the globe.
"We are continuing to invest in growth-oriented projects like
Hyperzone PE, where we see long term feedstock advantage,"
Patel added. "We believe that the combination of our latest
polyolefins technology and new ethylene capacity from low cost
debottlenecks will provide a good return on investment.
Additionally, this project enhances our ethylene integration
strategy, allowing us to capture value across the ethylene value
chain."
LyondellBasell currently produces a total of 7.8 billion pounds
(3.5 million metric tons) of HDPE annually, including capacity of
its joint venture facilities. The company is a leading worldwide
producer of all forms of PE with an annual capacity of 13.2 billion
pounds (6 million metric tons). Consumer products made from
PE are commonly recycled.
LyondellBasell is a global leader in the development and
licensing of polyolefin processes and related catalysts and plans
to make the Hyperzone PE technology available for licensing
in the future. The company has over 250 polypropylene and
polyethylene lines licensed worldwide.
The Hyperzone PE project is part of LyondellBasell's
ongoing growth plan. Recently, the company completed work on
ethylene expansion projects at the company's La Porte and Channelview sites in Texas. A third
ethylene expansion project is currently underway in Corpus Christi, Texas. Additionally,
development of a world scale propylene oxide and tertiary butyl
alcohol (PO/TBA) plant at the company's Channelview site is progressing.
About LyondellBasell
LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) is one of the world's largest
plastics, chemical and refining companies. The company
manufactures products at 57 sites in 18 countries.
LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items
that improve the quality of life for people around the world
including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home
furnishings, construction materials and biofuels. More
information about LyondellBasell can be found at www.lyb.com.
Hyperzone is a trademark owned by the LyondellBasell
Industries group of companies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release includes forward-looking statements and
projections, made in reliance on the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company has
made every reasonable effort to ensure that the information and
assumptions on which these statements and projections are based are
current, reasonable, and complete. Actual results could differ
materially based on factors including, but not limited to, our
ability to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals and to
successfully construct and operate the proposed facilities
described in this release; and general economic conditions in
geographic regions or markets served by LyondellBasell or where
operations of the company are located. Additional factors
that could cause results to differ materially from those described
in the forward-looking statements can be found in the "Risk
Factors" section of our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, which can be found at
www.lyb.com on the Investor Relations page and on the Securities
and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov. While the company
makes these statements and projections in good faith, neither the
company nor its management can guarantee that anticipated future
results will be achieved. The company assumes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made
herein or any other forward-looking statements made by the company,
whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140416/75605
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lyondellbasell-to-build-high-density-polyethylene-plant-on-us-gulf-coast-300306305.html
SOURCE LyondellBasell