HOUSTON, March 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- LyondellBasell
(NYSE: LYB), one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining
companies in the world, has informed the engineering and
construction contractors it will slow construction of its
world-scale propylene oxide (PO) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA)
plant. The company is limiting non-essential activities at this
time due to ongoing concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic,
including government orders designed to limit human contact.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and evolving. Because
the PO/TBA site is currently under construction and not producing
needed products yet, in the interest of health and safety we
believe it is prudent to limit construction activities at this
time," said Torkel Rhenman,
executive vice president, Intermediates & Derivatives
(I&D). "We remain committed to the completion of this strategic
investment incorporating our low-cost, next generation PO/TBA
technology. Over the next several weeks, we will be working with
our contractors and suppliers to develop a revised project
timeline."
LyondellBasell's PO/TBA project broke ground in August 2018. Currently, the project is more than
30 percent complete with ongoing installation of key equipment and
towers. The PO/TBA project has a split-facility design to optimize
synergies between two existing LyondellBasell sites. A 140-acre
PO/TBA plant is being built at the company's Channelview, Texas facility, and an associated
34-acre ethers unit is being built at the company's Bayport Complex
in Pasadena, Texas. When complete,
the PO/TBA plant will produce approximately 1 billion pounds
(470,000 metric tons) of PO and 2.2 billion pounds (1 million
metric tons) of TBA annually, which will serve the growing need for
better insulation material, home comfort, cleaner fuels and other
consumer applications.
This announcement does not impact LyondellBasell's ongoing
operations at Channelview or
Bayport, which are designated as part of the United States' critical infrastructure by
the Department of Homeland Security.
About LyondellBasell
LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) is one
of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the
world. Driven by its employees around the globe, LyondellBasell
produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions
to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight
and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies
through stronger and more versatile pipes, improving the safety,
comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the
road, and ensuring the safe and effective functionality in
electronics and appliances. LyondellBasell sells products into more
than 100 countries and is the world's largest producer of polymer
compounds and the largest licensor of polyolefin technologies. In
2020, LyondellBasell was named for the third consecutive year to
Fortune magazine's list of the "World's Most Admired Companies".
More information about LyondellBasell can be found
at www.LyondellBasell.com.
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; any impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic in geographic regions or markets served us, or where our
operations are located; potential governmental regulatory actions;
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, 2019, 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.
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SOURCE LyondellBasell Industries