Ineos, the London petrochemical company owned by Britain’s richest man Jim Ratcliffe, is considering an $803 million expansion of its La Porte petrochemical plant, state documents show.
A subsidiary of Ineos has applied for state tax incentive with the Texas Comptroller’s office for a proposed ethylbenzene /styrene monomer (EB/ SM) at its petrochemical complex in 1230 Parkway South in La Porte.
The proposed project could create 1,500 construction jobs and 25 permanent jobs in the La Porte – Deer Park area, according to its application for tax incentives published online June 4.
The project is in the preliminary stage and the company hasn’t committed to a final investment yet, however it has started preliminary engineering and design work, the documents said.
Construction could start in the first quarter of 2021 with the unit operating by the fourth quarter of 2023. The company said it could start hiring for permanent positions in December 2023. The minimum salary at the plant would be about $66,000 annually.
Construction workers’ average salary would be about $50,000, the documents said.
The EB/SM plant would take up 40 acres of land, including equipment, production units, storage tanks and shipping facilities.
Ineos is also is considering building the project in Pasadena, Green Lake, Chocolate Bayou, Mobile, Alabama and Jackson County, Mississippi.
The proposed ethylbenzene /styrene unit would have is 850 kiloton production capacity.
Ethylbenzene is a chemical used in the production of styrene, a precursor to the common plastic polystyrene. Solid and film polystyrene can be used in rigid food take-out containers, packaging, appliance housing while polystyrene foam can be used in building insulation and food service.
The company recently put together a virtual reality tour of its La Porte plant for educational purposes.
The new project would be run by the subsidiary Ineos Stryolution America LLC, which was formerly was called Stryolution America under a a joint venture between Ineos and BASF before Ineos bought out BASF’s stake in 2016 and renamed the company.
Ineos Stryolution has 3,300 employees globally with customers across 106 countries across 18 manufacturing sites and $5.6 billion Euros, the company said in its tax filing.
The full version of this article first appeared on the Houston Chronicle – an Energy Voice content partner. For more from the Houston Chronicle click here.