Name of the Project
Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP).

Location
Louisiana, US.

Project Owner/s
Sasol.

Project Description
The LCCP comprises a world-scale 1.54-million-ton-a-year ethane cracker and derivatives complex near Lake Charles, in the southern US state of Louisiana.

Besides the ethane cracker, the project includes six downstream chemicals projects.

Two large polymer plants – a low-density and linear low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plant, and an ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol (EO/EG) plant – will use about two-thirds of the ethylene produced, while three smaller, higher-value derivative plants will use the balance to produce speciality alcohols, ethoxylates and other products.

The LCCP will use about 100 000 bbl/d of ethane, sourced from suppliers that feed ethane into Mont Belvieu, Texas. While Sasol expects ethane prices to rise, it remains confident of feed-stock availability, having contracted 70% of its supply and buying the balance opportunistically on the spot market.

The petrochemicals complex is expected to almost triple Sasol’s chemical production capacity in the US.

Potential Job Creation
In August 2019, Sasol stated that the project had generated more than 800 full-time quality manufacturing jobs – with up to 6 500 people on site during construction, $4-billion spent with Louisiana businesses and nearly $200-million in local and state taxes.

Capital Expenditure
The cost of the LCCP has been revised from between $11.6-billion and $11.8-billion, announced in February 2019, to between $12.6-billion and $12.9-billion, announced in May 2019.

Planned Start/End Date
The new EO/EG production facility at LCCP reached beneficial operation in June 2019. The ethane cracker reached beneficial operation in August 2019.

Latest Developments
Sasol expects to finalise the scope of and time needed for repairs to the LDPE unit, at its LCCP, during the second half of February.

“Limited” damage was done to a small portion of the LDPE unit in an explosion and fire earlier this month.

Sasol has said that an investigation to determine the cause and the extent of the damage is still continuing, but that major equipment, such as the unit’s compressors, had not been affected.

Parallel commissioning activities on the remainder of the LDPE unit will continue while the investigation and repairs are completed.

The company, meanwhile, has confirmed that engineering and procurement activities at the LCCP are substantially complete and that construction progress was at 98% as at December 31.

Overall project completion is at 99% and capital expenditure of $12.5-billion has been invested.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Fluor Corporation and Technip joint venture (engineering, procurement and construction management contract).

On Budget and on Time?
The project has had some delays and the project’s budget has been revised. In 2014, the group said the Louisiana project would cost $8.9-billion to build, but there have been several cost revisions since then. In February 2019, Sasol provided a cost-to-completion range of between $11.6-billion and $11.8-billion. That revision increased the project’s price tag by between $1-billion and $1.3-billion, with the higher figure including a contingency of $300-million. The latest revision, in May 2019, increased the project’s price tag to between $12.6-billion and $12.9-billion.

Contact Details for Project Information
Sasol director of public affairs (US) Russell Johnson, tel +1 281 588 3027 or email media@us.sasol.com.
Sasol (South Africa) group media relations head Alex Anderson, tel +27 11 441 3295 or email alex.anderson@sasol.com.