Shintech to invest US$1.4 bln in new ethylene capacity in Louisiana

23-Apr-15

World No 1 PVC maker Shintech Inc. plans to invest US$1.4 bln in a new ethylene production capacity at its facility in Iberville Parish, Louisiana. This will be the first ethylene plant built in USA by a Japanese chemical company, as reported by www.areadevelopment.com. With approximately 5,700 acres on the Mississippi River southwest of Baton Rouge, Shintech operates plants in Plaquemine and Addis that chiefly produce PVC and its feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) The latest US$1.4 billion expansion will include installation of an ethane cracker at the Plaquemine complex and capital upgrades to connect the ethylene output to VCM and PVC production there. Shintech expects to break ground on the project in Q2-2015, with completion of the project slated for H1-2018. Shintech is near completion of an capacity expansion of its VCM, PVC and caustic soda capacity in Iberville Parish.