International integrated energy and chemical company Sasol has ordered the long-lead equipment for its $5-billion to $7-billion ethane cracker project in Lake Charles in Southwest Louisiana.
This followed Sasol’s December start of the front-end engineering and design phase for the ethane cracker with downstream derivatives.
The plant could be operational by 2017; however, the final investment decision on the venture was expected during the first half of 2014.
The main ethylene compressor trains were bought from MHI Compressor International Corporation.
The selected manufacturer was considered by Sasol as one of the few companies with the capability to manufacture equipment of this size and nature, Sasol executive VP for US megaprojects Johan du Preez said.
The company selected Univation Technologies’ Unipol polyethylene process and ExxonMobil Chemical Technology Licensing’s tubular process technology for the new linear low-density polyethylene and low-density polyethylene plants, respectively.
"This forms part of Sasol's strategy of building globally-competitive downstream facilities and adding value to the already low-cost ethylene production opportunity in North America," concluded Sasol senior group executive for global chemicals and North America operations André de Ruyter.