Shell Chemical announced on Monday that the company will advance feasibility plans for a potential $1.2 billion manufacturing expansion at its Shell Geismar facility in Louisiana.
At the 841-acre complex in Ascension Parish, Shell Chemical LP would build a world-scale monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant, pending final engineering, design and investment decisions. A decision to proceed with the project could come from Royal Dutch Shell in 2020.
Monoethylene glycol, or MEG, is a key ingredient in manufacturing paints, paper, textiles, resins, coolants and adhesives.
“We at Shell are proud of our long history in Louisiana, and I’m very excited about the positive potential of this project for Shell and for the state,” Shell Chemicals Vice President for Gulf Coast Manufacturing Rhoman Hardy said. “We look forward to working with Governor Edwards and LED as we move toward a final decision.”
After a 1965 groundbreaking in Ascension Parish, Shell began operating the Geismar chemicals plant in 1967 and completed other major expansions in 1995 and 2002. In December 2018, Shell completed a $717 million expansion that increased its linear alpha olefins capacity by 425,000 metric tonnes to a total of 1.3 million metric tonnes per year. That volume ranks the Geismar plant as the largest single-site manufacturer of alpha olefins in the world.
Products at the Shell Geismar site contribute key ingredients for making personal care products, soaps, shampoos and household cleaning solutions.
