LyondellBassell is proceeding with engineering design work for a Houston-area plant that would produce tertiary butyl alcohol and derivatives used to make lubricant additives, among other applications.
The project is expected to create up to 2,500 construction jobs and about 100 permanent positions. The plant will also have production capacity for up to one billion pounds of propylene oxide.
The plant will be located at the companys complex in Channelview, Texas.
The company will soon begin front-end engineering design work and file environmental permit applications. The phase will also include funding to order long lead-time equipment. A final investment decision is expected to be made following completion of the engineering design work.
We continue to believe that the combination of low-cost natural gas liquids available on the U.S. Gulf Coast, along with our leading proprietary [propylene oxide/tertiary butyl alcohol] technology, will allow this proposed project to capture maximum advantage of market opportunities, LyondellBasell CEO Bob Patel said in a news release.
In its original announcement in August 2014, the company indicated a preliminary timetable was to have the plant operational in 2019.
According to LyondellBassellss web site, tertiary-butyl alcohol is mainly used as an intermediate for production of other high-volume chemicals. Its intermediate uses include production of various tert-butyl esters as precursors for antioxidants.