US Facilities · Chemicals (ethylene)
Shin-Etsu's Shintech to build $1.4 billion ethane cracker in Louisiana
- Company
- Shin-Etsu Chemical (via Shintech) (Tokyo)
- Project
- Ethane cracker at Shintech's Plaquemine complex, Iberville Parish, Louisiana
- Value
- $1.4B
- Status
- Announced on April 22, 2015; completion was planned for the first half of 2018.
- Date
- 2015-04-22
Shintech, the US unit of Shin-Etsu Chemical, said it would invest $1.4 billion to build an ethane cracker at its complex in Plaquemine, Louisiana. The plant will supply ethylene to the vinyl chloride monomer and PVC plants at the site. It was described as the first ethylene plant built in the US by a Japanese chemical company, and Shintech said it would fund the project itself.
Why it matters
Making its own ethylene from shale-derived ethane lets Shintech integrate further upstream in its PVC chain.
The project
Besides the cracker, the project includes upgrades to connect its ethylene output to vinyl chloride monomer and PVC production at the Plaquemine complex. Groundbreaking was set for the second quarter of 2015. Louisiana offered a $5 million performance-based grant for site infrastructure, a $5 million Modernization Tax Credit paid over five years, and workforce services through its FastStart program.
Shintech in Louisiana
Shintech operates about 5,700 acres along the Mississippi River southwest of Baton Rouge, with plants in Plaquemine and Addis. Including this project, its investment in Louisiana reached $4.7 billion. Governor Bobby Jindal said it was Shintech's third major expansion in the state since 2008. The state described Shintech as the world's largest PVC maker, and its affiliate SE Tylose was building a hydroxyethyl cellulose plant at Plaquemine.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
