Petrochemical plant construction is one reason welders are in such demand

Fuel Fix:
LyondellBasell Industries petrochemical giant said Thursday it plans to build a new plant near Houston at its Channelview complex that represents the company’s largest capital investment ever.

The PO/TBA plant would produce 1 billion pounds of propylene oxide, 2 billion pounds of tertiary butyl alcohol and its derivatives annually. Propylene oxide is a chemical used to make everything from antifreeze to cosmetics. The tertiary butyl alcohol is a byproduct used as a solvent to make chemicals and gasoline additives.

The move is part of the Gulf Coast’s petrochemical boom that has seen companies taking advantage of cheap natural gas used as a feedstock for manufacturing chemicals and plastics.

LyondellBasell is planning to spend up to $4 billion in capital through 2020 along the Gulf Coast, mostly in Texas. The company recently completed completed ethylene expansion projects at its La Porte and Channelview sites in Texas. A third ethylene expansion project is currently underway in Corpus Christi.

However, LyondellBasell said it is beginning front-end engineering work on the project, and will not make a final decision on starting construction until after the engineering is finished next year.

LyondellBasell previously announced the PO/TBA project last year, but a location was not determined at that time. The goal is to have the plant operational in 2020. This past summer, CEO Bob Patel said Channelview was in the mix for the plant, but a final decision likely wasn’t coming until 2016.

“We are moving forward in a deliberate fashion to develop what could become the single largest capital investment in LyondellBasell’s history,” Patel said Thursday in a prepared statement. “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 PO/TBA technology, will allow this proposed project to capture maximum advantage of market opportunities.”
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Other major companies are also expanding their petrochemical operations or building entirely new facilities.  Many of them are working with community colleges to train welders for the jobs needed in the construction process.  It is not clear where philosophy majors would fit in these jobs.

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