Enterprise Products Partners and LyondellBasell have signed long-term contracts that will support the construction of Enterprises’s second propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in Mont Belvieu, Texas, USA.

PDH 2 will produce up to 1.65 billion pounds per year (748,000 t/y) of polymer-grade propylene (PGP) when it starts up in the first half of 2023.

Under the service-based contracts, Enterprise will process propane provided by LyondellBasell for a fixed fee.

LyondellBasell’s CEO Bob Patel said the agreements allow it to leverage Enterprise’s construction expertise, operating experience and robust network. He said: As we aim to meet growing demand for our products, ensuring a long-term supply of feedstock is critical.” The company will use the propylene to feed its PP and other derivative operations.

Enterprise has licensed Honeywell UOP’s Oleflex process for the PDH unit. The company is currently using Honeywell UOP’s Oleflex butane process in a second isobutene dehydrogenation (iBDH) plant at the Mont Belvieu site. Construction of the facility, which will produce 425,000 t/y of isobutene, is expected to be completed later this year.

The company has also negotiated terms for a fixed-cost engineering, procurement and construction contract for PDH 2 with S&B Engineers and Constructors, a company it has worked with since 1995.

Enterprise added that the integration of its PDH 1 and PDH2 plants with its propylene fractionation facilities at Mont Belvieu provides operational flexibility for both processes and a combined PGP supply of more than nine billion pounds per year.