Occidental Chemical Corporation (OxyChem; Los Angeles, Calif.; www.oxychem.com), a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Mexichem, S.A.B. de C.V. (Tlalnepantla, Mexico; www.mexichem.com) have announced the formation of a 50/50 joint venture, Ingleside Ethylene LLC, to build an ethylene cracker with an estimated capacity of around 544,000 metric tons/yr (m.t./yr) at the OxyChem plant in Ingleside, Tex. along with pipelines and storage at Markham, Tex.
As part of a long-term strategic supply relationship between the companies, essentially all of the ethylene produced from the cracker will be consumed in the manufacture of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) utilizing existing VCM capacity. VCM will be delivered to Mexichem to produce polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and PVC piping systems.
OxyChem, which will build and operate the cracker, has taken a number of relevant steps needed to begin construction, including: completed the front-end engineering and design; received draft permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; and applied for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency permits in December 2012. OxyChem expects to award the engineering and construction contract in the fourth quarter of 2013, with construction beginning in mid-2014 and the facilities becoming commercially operational in the first quarter of 2017.