Axiall Corp. (Atlanta, Ga.; www.axiall.com) today announced that the company has selected the state of Louisiana as the location of a possible ethylene cracker to be built in conjunction with a related derivatives plant. Axiall proposes to construct the facility with a soon-to-be-named partner, and Axiall’s contemplated capital investment in the project would be approximately $1 billion. Axiall expects to finance its portion of the investment with a combination of new debt and cash on hand. The combination of Axiall’s approximately $1 billion investment with approximately $2 billion from a partner could result in a total capital investment approaching $3 billion.
If Axiall chooses to move forward with construction of an ethylene cracker and gains board approval, commercial operation could begin in 2018. The company projects that an ethylene cracker alone would create between 150 and 175 permanent full-time jobs once operational; a related derivatives plant would increase the number of new permanent full-time jobs to 225-250. Thousands of additional construction jobs would be created during a four-to-five year period.