Netherlands-headquartered, US-managed LyondellBasell is planning to build a new chemicals and plastics complex on the Gulf Coast, CEO Bob Patel has told the Texas newspaper Houston Chronicle.

In the executive’s well observed habit of launching trial balloons well in advance, the newspaper quotes Patel as saying a final decision may still be a year away.

The planned facility, he said, would be the world’s largest to produce propylene oxide and butyl alcohol, with capacity to turn out 1 billion lbs and 2.2 billion lbs respectively (454,000 t of the former and about 1 million t of the latter).

Patel said he hopes to move forward with the plans by the end of 2018.

LyondellBasell has already implemented a major expansion along the Houston Ship Channel and has broken ground for its new 500,000 t/y PE plant at its La Porte petrochemical complex near Houston. That facility is set for start-up in 2019.

The CEO told the Chronicle that propane as a feedstock is less cost advantaged than ethane but ihe new facility would meet growing US demand for polypropylene as a plastic and fabric. One important market would be the automotive industry.