Freeport Chosen for MEGlobal’s US Plant
MEGlobal, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kuwait’s Equate Petrochemical, has announced it will build a world-scale MEG plant at Dow Chemical’s Oyster Creek site in Freeport, Texas, USA.
The plant is planned to go on stream in mid-2019. Capacity details were not disclosed.
Dow’s CEO Andrew Liveris stated last year that MEGlobal would build somewhere on the US Gulf, depending on the incentives offered. Texas was chosen following the approval of tax agreements which Dow said would help maintain a favorable climate in the state for future business approval and development by both itself and MEGlobal.
The facility will be MEGlobal’s first production plant in the US and will benefit from a long-term ethylene supply agreement with Dow, which is currently building a new cracker at Freeport. Construction is more than 40% complete, and the ethylene plant is said to be on track for start-up in the second quarter of 2017.
“Establishing MEG production in the US Gulf Coast is an important investment for us as it greatly enhances our global footprint and is directly aligned to our growth strategy to maximize value as a leading ethylene glycol producer and supplier,” said Mohammad Husain, Equate’s president and CEO. He added that the supply agreement with Dow also provides the plant with a unique competitive position.
