The Green Lake INEOS plant is targeted for its first expansion project in a decade, Edward “Skip” Sockell, deputy site director, said Friday morning. INEOS is favoring its Green Lake, TX plant for the construction of its fourth reactor project. With the completion of the reactor project, the Green Lake plant would be expanded by 15 percent. This would make the local plant the largest acrylonitrile plant in the world, according to Sockell.
“Green Lake will become the largest acrylonitrile production facility in the world with 544 kt of total capacity,” noted Sockell.
Sockell said construction is expected to begin in September 2007 and to be completed by the third quarter of 2008.
“On the average we expect there will be 300 construction workers on the site and as many as 600 during peak construction,” Sockell said.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has the INEOS permit application. Sockell indicated he did not foresee any problems in getting the permit application approved by TCEQ.
Sockell noted the project, estimated to cost between $80 and $100 million, needs to go through one more “level of approval” from the owner. The final approval is expected in June.
“We are not expecting any problem with getting approval, we are already buying the equipment,” Sockell said. “Engineering design work has begun. The company is very excited and interested in this project.”
Sockell said the reactor will be built on property already owned by INEOS and will be adjacent to existing acrylonitrile facilities on TX 185.
INEOS Nitriles, a key strategic business for the INEOS Group, was acquired in December 2005. INEOS Nitriles is the leading producer and marketer of acrylonitrile worldwide with plants in Lima, OH, Green Lake, TX and Cologne, Germany.
“We are the ‘A’ in ABS Plastics and acrylic fibers,” said Sockell.
INEOS is the world’s third largest chemicals company and a leading manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals and oil products. INEOS is comprised of 18 businesses with 68 manufacturing facilities spanning 17 countries. With 15,600 employees, INEOS annually produces more than 30 million tons of petrochemicals and 20 million tons of crude oil refined products (fuels) with sales of around $33 billion.
Sockell indicated the Green Lake site became the favored site of INEOS “because we like the Port of Port Lavaca-Point Comfort. We ship our product through our pipeline directly to the port and from there to all over the world, principally Aisa and Europe.”
Sockell said on the average one-to-two deep draft ships arrive per week at the local port to pick up INEOS cargo.
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