Ineos mulls huge expansion plans at Chocolate Bayou, Houston

21-Mar-16

Switzerland-based Ineos Group Ltd, one of the world's largest chemical companies is considering a hefty expansion of its facility south of Houston, Bloomberg reported. The company is mulling a plan to add between 250 mln and 1 bln lbs per annum of ethylene production at its site, Dennis Seith, president and CEO of the company’s U.S. olefins and polymers unit, told Bloomberg. The expansion could also include adding polypropylene and alpha-olefins capacity. Ineos will makes its final investment decision on the expansion of ethylene, polypropylene and alpha-olefins production within a year. If plans materialise, expanded ethylene output would be available in the early 2020s. Not only that, Ineos is also in the process of undergoing a 1 bln lbs expansion of its polyethylene plastics production at a joint-venture site on the Houston Ship Channel, which is scheduled to start production in the fourth quarter, Seith said in the Bloomberg interview.