BP is to modernize and expand its
olefins units at Chocolate
Bayou, TX. The company plans to replace several older
furnaces
with larger, more efficient units by 2002. This move will reduce its
nitrogen oxide (NO2)
emissions, significantly keeping up with the
Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission’s 2004
requirement to reduce NO2
emissions by 90%. The project will
also add around 225 kts/pa of
ethylene to the
plants' current
combined capacity of 1,461 kts/pa. Officials state it will not be up
to full capacity until late 2003 or early 2004. Although a
construction contract has yet to be awarded, BP has shown
interest in Kellogg Brown & Root's Selective Cracking Optimum
Recovery furnace technology. The project comes about as BP
negotiates a deal to acquire 49% of
Solvay’s North American
high-density polyethylene (HDPE) business. The transaction
should be finalized by the end of Q3. Over the long term more
ethylene will be needed with the
Solvay deal.