Thread Content
According to Sinochem New Network, on December 3, Chevron announced that the two world-class petrochemical plants being developed by its joint venture with Phillips 66, Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chemical), are expected to come online by 2027. Both projects were originally scheduled to go into operation in 2026, but now both have been delayed. The two major projects developed by CP Chemicals in partnership with Qatar Energy are: one, an ethylene and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) complex located in Orange, Texas, USA, with an investment of $8.5 billion; and the other, the Ras Laffan Integrated Petrochemical Complex in Qatar, with an investment of $6 billion. The Texas project has an annual production capacity that includes an ethane cracking unit with a capacity of 2.1 million tons, as well as two HDPE plants with a capacity of one million tons each; the Qatar project is equipped with an ethane cracking unit capable of processing 2.1 million tons per year, along with two HDPE plants whose combined capacity is 1.68 million tons per year. Once these two projects come online, they will add 4.2 million tons per year of ethylene capacity and 2.68 million tons per year of HDPE capacity to the global market, which is currently facing an oversupply and weak demand. By utilizing cheap ethane sourced from U.S. shale gas and the Northern Gas Field in Qatar, they will be able to gain a cost advantage.