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.

The project also 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 (ETO) and other products.

The ETO has a nameplate capacity of 100 000 t/y and completes the ethylene oxide value chain, which forms part of the performance chemicals product range.

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 on Louisiana businesses and nearly $200-million on 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 the LCCP reached beneficial operation in June 2019. The ethane cracker reached beneficial operation in August 2019.

The ETO unit – the fourth of seven units – at the LCCP achieved beneficial operation in January 2020.

Latest Developments
The Guerbet alcohols unit at the Lake Charles Chemicals project (LCCP) achieved beneficial operation on June 19.

This is Sasol’s second Guerbet alcohol production site, with the other located in Brunsbuettel, Germany.

The Guerbet unit is the sixth LCCP production unit to be brought into production, has a nameplate capacity of 30 000 t/y and uses Sasol’s proprietary technology.

All of LCCP’s specialty chemicals units are now on line and 86% of total nameplate capacity at the LCCP is operational.

Meanwhile, the Ziegler unit at LCCP,  an extension of the existing Ziegler plant at Lake Charles, achieved beneficial operation on June 16.

It is the largest of its kind in the world, adding nameplate capacity of 173 000 t/y of alcohol and 32 000 t/y year of alumina.

The Ziegler unit is the most technically complex of the LCCP units and is also based on Sasol’s proprietary technology.

The last remaining unit to come on line at LCCP will be the LDPE, which was damaged in a fire in January.

It is on track to reach beneficial operation by the end of September.

At the end of May, the LCCP capital expenditure was tracking the previously communicated guidance of $12.8-billion. 

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

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.