The facility will produce monoethylene and diethylene glycol products used in multiple market applications including polyester fibers, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and packaging, antifreeze and coolants, paints, resins
Image: MEGlobal Oyster Creek site. Photo: courtesy of PRNewswire / EQUATE Group.
EQUATE Group has announced the inauguration of its new MEGlobal Oyster Creek site in Oyster Creek, Texas, USA.
The momentous occasion was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony on site, attended by ownership and company representatives.
The world-scale, 750,000 metric-tons-annually (MTa) ethylene glycol (EG) manufacturing facility is part of EQUATE’s wholly-owned subsidiary, MEGlobal America. It will produce monoethylene and diethylene glycol, products used in a number of market applications including polyester fibers, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and packaging, antifreeze and coolants, paints, resins, deicing fluids, heat transfer fluids and construction materials.
“This is a major achievement for the EQUATE Group and will benefit both Kuwait and the U.S.,” said EQUATE President and CEO Dr. Ramesh Ramachandran. “With a growing global market for EG products, it will provide us with greater flexibility to satisfy our customers’ needs while capitalizing on the U.S. shale gas opportunity. This site builds on our global footprint and is part of our strategy to grow our value-added business as a leading ethylene glycol producer and supplier.”
Ramachandran noted the site builds on the longstanding relationship between its Kuwaiti partner, Petrochemical Industries of Kuwait (PIC) and the U.S. partner, Dow, a relationship that was forged during the liberation of Kuwait. It led to the formation of the EQUATE Petrochemical Company, a joint venture between Dow and PIC (42.5% each ownership) as well as Boubyan Petrochemicals Co. K.S.C. (BPC) with 9% ownership and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co. (QPIC) with 6% ownership.
“The EQUATE Group began with a large investment in Kuwait and now comes full circle with the investment in Texas. Our ability to leverage the project execution and operational excellence expertise of Dow allowed us to deliver the project on time and on budget in the USGC which is a remarkable accomplishment,” Ramachandran said.
The project achieved several milestones in its construction, including more than three million consecutive safe work hours.
EQUATE Executive Vice President Naser Al-Dousari added, “This is an important milestone in EQUATE history, adding manufacturing capacity on the U.S. Gulf Coast to satisfy customer needs in the region. EQUATE’s glycol footprint in the Americas is as large as that in Kuwait. The community in Texas has been very welcoming to this investment and we look forward to being a part of this region.”
The site created 55 new full-time long-term jobs, 25-35 contract jobs. It employed almost 2,000 construction workers at peak.
Commercial quantities of finished product are expected to begin shipping by November, 2019.
Source: Company Press Release