David Constable, Chief Executive Officer, Sasol
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA: Sasol Ltd. (SOL), the largest producer of motor fuel from coal, said it may spend $4.5 billion to build a U.S. plant that would use low-cost natural gas to make ethylene and related chemicals in Louisiana.
Ethane-fed ethylene plant, known as a cracker will be completed by June 2013. The cost of building plants that produce 1 million to 1.4 million metric tons of ethylene a year plus derivatives will be $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion, Sasol said.
Sasol joins Dow Chemical Co. (DOW), Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc to build ethane crackers in the U.S.
“Strategic growth in chemicals will take full advantage of the natural-gas opportunities along the U.S. Gulf coast,” said David Constable, Chief Executive Officer, Sasol in a separate statement. “The anticipated growth will strengthen Sasol’s overall portfolio.”
Ethane is a component of gas used to make ethylene, the most produced petrochemical and an industry bellwether. New drilling methods are opening up shale formations from Texas to West Virginia, reducing the cost of gas and making the U.S. the lowest-cost ethylene producer outside the Middle East.
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