US Chevron Phillips starts up cracker in Baytown, Texas

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Chevron Phillips Chemical started up its new ethane cracker at its Cedar Bayou complex in Baytown, Texas, the US-based company said on Monday.

The cracker has a capacity of 1.5m tonnes/year. Some of the cracker’s ethylene will feed two Marlex polyethylene (PE) units in Old Ocean, Texas, which Chevron Phillips started in September, the company said. The plants are based on the company’s MarTech technologies.

These plants can produce a variety of materials, from metallocene linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) to Advanced Dual Loop bimodal PE resins.

The new cracker will also feed the company’s AlphaPlus normal alpha olefins (NAO) plant.

These materials are used to make PE co-monomers and synthetic oils among many others.

Chevron Phillips Chemical’s PE units in Old Ocean, Texas. They will use some of the ethylene produced by the new cracker (Photo by CP Chem)