After achieving mechanical completion, the revamped US cracker at Westlake / Lake Charles, Louisiana, acquired by Indorama Ventures (IVL, Bangkok / Thailand; www.indoramaventures.com) in 2015 – see Plasteurope.com of 29.09.2015 – is now undergoing trial runs, the Thai PET giant reported simultaneously with its Q1 2019 financial results. Greenberry Industrial (Vancouver, Washington / USA; www.greenberry.com) carried out the overhaul of the facility, formerly owned by Occidental Petroleum (Los Angeles, California / USA; www.oxy.com), to run on shale gas-derived ethane. Production is being ramped up gradually over the course of the first quarter. The Louisiana state government provided investment aid for the project.

Following the official start-up, the modernised facility initially envisaged for mechanical completion in Q4 2017 will be capable of producing 440,000 t/y of ethylene. Output is to be earmarked largely for Indorama’s captive production of ethylene oxide (EO) and ethylene glycol (EG). According to Plasteurope.com’s Polyglobe database (www.polyglobe.net), the US cracker will have output capability of 420,000 t/y of ethylene and 20,000 t/y of propylene – a slightly different mix from the 370,000 t/y of ethylene and 30,000 t/y of propylene first announced.

For the 2019 first quarter, IVL reported record global sales of USD 3 bn, an increase of 26% year-on-year. EBITDA declined by 23% against Q1 2018 to USD 265m. Looking at the bigger picture, the group said the quarterly performance was supported by higher sales volumes and a strong performance by its integrated PET business, which benefited from acquisitions. Net profit deteriorated by 36% to USD 117m, as earnings from the olefins business were dampened by an extended shutdown, which is now resolved.