Total Texas JV with Austria’s Borealis and Canada’s Nova Chemical
On Monday, Total announced it will be entering a joint venture with two companies in a steam cracker unit and a new Borstar® polyethylene unit on the US Gulf Coast. The Total Texas investments are valued at $1.7 billion.
The French energy company is expected to hold a 50 per cent interest in the partnership with Borealis of Austria and Canada’s Nova Chemical.
“After significant investments in US LNG and US shale gas in 2016, this almost two billion dollar investment signals our determination to strengthen our presence in the United States, where we have operated for 60 years and have more than 6,000 employees,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total.
According to a press release, the Total Texas joint venture will include building a new 1 Mt/year ethane steam cracker in Port Arthur, Texas, building a new 625 kt/year Borstar® polyethylene plant on the Bayport site, Texas and the company’s existing polyethylene 400 kt/year plant located in Bayport, Texas.
“By joining forces with Borealis and Nova, we aim to create a major player in the US polyethylene market,” said Pouyanné.
The company says the abundance of natural gas available in the US, due to the shale revolution, provides two competitive advantages for petrochemicals, including access to low-cost energy to run the facilities and competitively prices ethane feedstock.
Total reports the joint venture should be established in late 2017 and the final investment decision on the Borstar® polyethylene plant will be taken simultaneously.
The new cracker will be built alongside Total’s Port Arthur refinery and Total/BASF existing steam cracker and is expected to begin operations in 2020.
According to Total, construction of the facility should create about 1,500 jobs during peak engineering and construction activity. Total has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract of the ethane steam cracker to CB&I.
