OxyChem’s $1 billion ‘cracker’ to Ingleside

INGLESIDE – Occidental Chemical Corp. and Mexichem (a Mexican petrochemical company) have started construction on a $1 billion ethylene cracking plant in Ingleside.

When completed in 2017, the cracking plant will be capable of producing 1.2 billion pounds of ethylene each year. It includes a plant, a pipeline and a storage facility.

OxyChem’s cracker unit, will break down ethane — a component of natural gas — into ethylene, nearly all of which will be used in its production of a chemical that will then be sold to Mexichem to produce PVC resin and piping systems.

The project is expected to create about 1,700 jobs during construction, and more than 150 permanent jobs.

The facility’s proximity to the Eagle Ford Shale and access to water-based travel are both huge economic advantages, said Chuck Anderson, an Ingleside Ethylene board member.

The cracker unit is OxyChem’s second major project planned in the area.

In April, the company got approval from the EPA to build a proposed natural gas liquids fractionation plant, a facility that separates valuable components of natural gas.

The company also has proposed a propane export facility for the old Naval Station Ingleside property.

For more, see previous story Ingleside OxyChem $1B expansion approved.