TotalEnergies Opens New Facility

New Facility from TotalEnergies Baystar, a 50/50 joint venture between TotalEnergies and Borealis, has announced the start of commercial operations of a new ethane cracker with annual ethylene production capacity of one million tonnes. Built and operated on the TotalEnergies Refinery site in Port Arthur, Texas, this approximately USD 2 billion project represented 14 million hours of work, with more than 2,500 workers at the peak of construction. The ethylene produced by the cracker will serve as feedstock for Baystar's existing polyethylene (PE) units as well as a new polyethylene unit using Borstar® technology currently under construction in Bayport, Texas. Bernard Pinatel, President of TotalEnergies Refining and Chemicals, said: "Following significant investments in US LNG and renewable electricity in 2022, the start-up of this new cracker is another milestone strengthening TotalEnergies' presence in the United States. This investment is in perfect alignment with our strategy to develop petrochemicals at our integrated platforms. In Port Arthur, we are capitalizing on the abundance of ethane in the US." The Baystar joint venture is an indicator of TotalEnergies and Borealis's growth targets in the United States and comprises the following: • Baystar facility in Bayport, Texas with 400,000 tonnes/year PE capacity. • One million tonnes per year ethane cracker currently successfully in operation at TotalEnergies Port Arthur Refinery. • PE unit of 625,000 mt/year under construction in Bayport, using Borealis's proprietary Borstar® technology to offer a broad product range to help meet growing global demand for plastic products. Source