Shells alpha olefins project in Louisiana on track for late 2018 start up

06-Jun-17

Shell Chemicals' alpha olefins capacity expansion at Geismar, Louisiana, remains on track for startup by end-2018, as per Platts. Construction of a 425,000 m tpa line at the site is ongoing, along with a completion of a cooling tower and two new storage areas, one for rail and one for the alpha olefins unit's high-purity butenem, Shell said in a statement.
The site already has three alpha olefins units, with ethylene feedstock supply coming from Shell's Norco, Louisiana, and Deer Park, Texas, sites.

Upon completion of the line, the new capacity will bring the total alpha olefins production at Geismar to more than 1.3 million mt/year, making the site the largest alpha olefins producer in the world, Shell said. Shell began construction in January 2016, after making a final investment decision in November 2015.