PARIS, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Total is entering
a partnership with Borealis and Nova to form a joint venture with
the aim of building an ethane steam cracker and a new
Borstar® polyethylene unit on the US Gulf Coast. Total
is expected to hold a 50% interest in the new joint venture.
More precisely, the joint venture will include:
- building a new 1 Mt/y ethane steam cracker in Port Arthur, Texas;
- Total's existing polyethylene 400 kt/y plant in Bayport,
Texas;
- building a new 625 kt/y Borstar® polyethylene plant
on the Bayport site, Texas.
The joint venture is expected to be established in late 2017*
and the final investment decision on the Borstar®
polyethylene plant will be taken simultaneously.
The $1.7 billion new cracker is
scheduled to start up in 2020 and will create around 1,500 jobs
during peak engineering and construction activity. The engineering,
procurement and construction contract (EPC) of the ethane
steam cracker has been awarded by Total to CB&I.
The new cracker will be built alongside Total's Port Arthur refinery and Total/BASF existing
steam cracker. By leveraging synergies with its existing
world-class integrated platform in Texas, Total optimized capital expenditure and
will deliver one of the most competitive cracker projects in the
US.
"After significant investments in US LNG and US shale gas in
2016, this almost two billion dollar
investment signals our determination to strengthen our presence in
the United States, where we have
operated for 60 years and have more than 6,000 employees,"
explained Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total. "We want
to take advantage of the business-friendly environment to
contribute to making American petrochemicals even greater. By
joining forces with Borealis and Nova, we aim to create a major
player in the US polyethylene market."
The abundance of available gas in the
United States as a result of the shale revolution provides
two competitive advantages for petrochemicals: access to low-cost
energy to run the facilities and competitively priced ethane
feedstock.
Total in the United
States
Total is present in all oil and gas industry segments, with the
exception of fuel retailing, in the
United States. Its operations there date back to 1957 and
employ more than 6,000 people. Its main activities are:
- In Refining & Chemicals, Total owns the Port Arthur refinery in Texas and has a 40% interest in a condensate
splitter, which have a total capacity of 202,000 barrels per day.
Port Arthur refinery is integrated
with a steam cracker in which the Group has a 40% interest through
a joint venture with BASF (60 %). In petrochemicals, Total operates
one of the world's largest polypropylene plants, in La Porte, Texas; the world's largest
polystyrene plant, in Carville,
Louisiana; and two high density polyethylene (HDPE) lines in
Bayport, Texas. The Group is also
present in the country through its affiliates Cray Valley, which
produces hydrocarbon resins, and Hutchinson, which processes elastomers.
- In Exploration & Production, Total is active in the
deepwater Gulf of Mexico and in
shale gas production in the Barnett Shale (Texas) and the Utica Shale (Ohio).
- In LNG, Total has contracted US production in its trading
portfolio and has acquired in 2016 an interest in Tellurian that
develops an integrated gas project to produce and export LNG from
the planned Driftwood LNG Terminal (Texas).
- In renewable energies, Total is the majority shareholder of
SunPower, a global solar leader that offers rooftop solutions for
the home, industrial and commercial markets and develops
utility-scale solar power plants. The Group is also present in the
energy storage market through its affiliate Saft, which runs
U.S.-based research and manufacturing sites.
* Pending regulatory approvals.
About Total
Total is a global integrated energy producer and provider, a
leading international oil and gas company, and a major player in
solar energy with SunPower and Total Solar. Our
98,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer,
cleaner, more efficient, more innovative and accessible to as many
people as possible. As a responsible corporate citizen, we focus on
ensuring that our operations in more than 130 countries worldwide
consistently deliver economic, social and environmental benefits.
total.com
Cautionary note
This press release, from which no legal consequences may be
drawn, is for information purposes only. The entities in which
TOTAL S.A. directly or indirectly owns investments are separate
legal entities. TOTAL S.A. has no liability for their acts or
omissions. In this document, the terms "Total" and "Total Group"
are sometimes used for convenience where general references are
made to TOTAL S.A. and/or its subsidiaries. Likewise, the words
"we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to subsidiaries in
general or to those who work for them.
This document may contain forward-looking information and
statements that are based on a number of economic data and
assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory
environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are
subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TOTAL S.A. nor any of
its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends
contained in this document whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
TOTAL
2, place Jean Millier
La Défense 6
92400 Courbevoie, France
Tel.: + 33 (0) 1 47 44 46 99
Fax: + 33 (0) 1 47 44 68 21
TOTAL S.A.
Share capital: €6,133,930,082.50
Registered in Nanterre: RCS 542 051 180
total.com
@TotalPress
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SOURCE Total