Sasol's Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP) in Westlake, Louisiana, is on track for a phased startup beginning in second half of 2018, with overall completion at 74% and construction at 42%, the company said in a presention of its second quarter earnings.
In the first wave of startups, the first unit -- a linear low-density polyethylene unit -- is expected to start up in the H2 2018, followed by a 1.54 million mt/year ethane-fed steam cracker and an ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol unit later that year, the company has said.
The second wave includes startup of a low-density PE unit in early H1 2019, and startup of three smaller derivative plants that will produce specialty alcohols, ethoxylates and alumina products in H2 2019.
Most of the ethylene produced from the world-scale cracker will be consumed for the corresponding derivative units, with some sent to its joint venture Gemini HDPE plant in La Porte, Texas, and small volumes sold in the merchant market, the company has said. The La Porte joint venture is a 50:50 partnership with Switzerland-based Ineos.
Sasol estimates the total project cost at $11 billion, an increase of $2.1 billion from the original estimate at the time of final investment decision in October 2014, the company said. Sasol cited the higher project cost to increased site and civil costs, increased EPCM contractor costs and an increase in total labor costs.
