LyondellBasell on Monday said it will move ahead with plans to expand propylene capacity at its Channelview, Texas, petrochemical complex.

This metathesis unit, capable of converting ethylene to propylene, will increase the facility's annual 2.5 million metric ton/year propylene production capacity by 400,000 mt/year, raising North American polymer grade output capacity by about 2%, according to data from Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS.

The Channelview facilities also have the capacity to produce just over 1 million mt/year of derivative propylene oxide, according to CMA data.

Kim Foley, LyondellBasell's executive vice president of global olefins & polymers and refining, said in a news release that the "capacity expansion strengthens our ability to meet increasing customer demand and improve our self-sufficiency as we grow and upgrade a core business line for LyondellBasell ... Additionally, it reduces our exposure to market volatility, which positions [the company] to provide consistent returns for our shareholders."

The expansion comes as the company is in the process of closing its Houston refinery, a regional source for refinery grade propylene.

Construction on the new plant is expected to get underway early in the third quarter and the company said it will employ about 750 workers during peak construction and create 25 permanent jobs.

The calendar average for February 2025 Mont Belvieu Enterprise (MtB-EPC) PGP was 44.145cts/lb and the February 2025 30-day and 45-day TX-All weighted averages were both 44.583cts/lb, according to market data from PetroChem Wire by OPIS.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

--Reporting by Adam Burkin, aburkin@opisnet.com; Editing by Anna Matherne Maldonado, amatherne@opisnet.com and Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 03, 2025 12:12 ET (17:12 GMT)

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