LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB), one of the world's largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies, announced today the arrival of its Hyperzone polyethylene (PE) plant’s multi-zone circulating reactor, a significant milestone in the project’s construction phase. The company broke ground on the plant in May, and start up is planned for 2019. Hyperzone technology will address modern solutions in plastics, and the plant is part of the company’s multi-billion dollar series of investments along the U.S. Gulf Coast to continue expanding and enhancing service globally.

“Our team is doing an excellent job driving the next phase of this important project that will advance polyethylene technology for the plastics industry,” said Chris Cain, Site Manager, LyondellBasell’s La Porte Complex. “Hyperzone PE technology is revolutionary and forward-thinking. Our company is helping make plastics more durable and sustainable for generations to come.”

The multi-zone reactor is key for the production of the company’s new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology, a polyolefin process which enables manufacturing of a broad spectrum of high density polyethylene (HDPE) products in one single plant whereas previous technologies require multiple plants. The reactor, about five-stories-tall, was shipped from South Korea and travelled about 11,000 miles before arriving to the company’s La Porte Complex dock in October. LyondellBasell is a global leader in the development and licensing of polyolefin processes. The company plans to make the Hyperzone process technology available for licensing in the future. The technology, which will produce resins that provide light-weighting capabilities for customers, took years to advance to commercialization and was a product of LyondellBasell’s global research and development teams in Ferrara, Italy; Frankfurt, Germany; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Houston, Texas. 

The Hyperzone plant will produce 1.1 billion pounds-per-year of high density polyethylene. Hyperzone PE will create up to 1,000 jobs at the peak of construction and 75 permanent positions. As modeled by Impact Data Source, the approximately $700 million project is expected to generate more than $67 million in tax benefits for the state, county, school district, community college and other local taxing districts over a 10-year period following construction.

In addition to the Hyperzone PE plant, the company’s U.S. Gulf Coast investments include recently completed work on ethylene expansion projects at its La Porte, Channelview and Corpus Christi sites in Texas. Additionally, LyondellBasell will build the world’s largest propylene oxide (PO) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) plant. The PO/TBA project is estimated to cost approximately $2.4 billion, representing the single-largest capital investment in the company’s history. At the peak of construction, the project is expected to create up to 2,500 jobs and approximately 160 permanent positions when operational. Once in operation, the plant will produce an anticipated 1 billion pounds (470,000 metric tons) of PO and 2.2 billion pounds (1 million metric tons) of TBA annually.

PO is used in the manufacture of bedding, furniture, carpeting, coatings, building materials and adhesives, while the TBA will be converted to two ether-based oxyfuels, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE). Both MTBE and ETBE are high-octane gasoline components that help gasoline burn cleaner and reduce emissions from automobiles.

The La Porte Complex is one of LyondellBasell’s largest manufacturing facilities, spanning approximately 550 acres, and is the world’s third largest producer of glacial acetic acid, a safe flavor enhancer and food preservative. The plant manufactures materials used in toys, adhesives, food packaging and paints and coatings. Once the Hyperzone PE plant is complete, the La Porte Complex will more than double its annual PE capacity to 2 billion pounds (900,000 metric tons).

For more information, please visit www.lyb.com/hyperzone. 

About LyondellBasell LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) is one of the world's largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies and a member of the S&P 500. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels. More information about LyondellBasell can be found at www.lyb.com.

Hyperzone is a trademark owned by the LyondellBasell Industries group of companies.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release includes forward-looking statements and projections, made in reliance on the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company has made every reasonable effort to ensure that the information and assumptions on which these statements and projections are based are current, reasonable, and complete. Actual results could differ materially based on factors including, but not limited to, our ability to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals and to successfully construct and operate the proposed facilities described in this release; and general economic conditions in geographic regions or markets served by LyondellBasell or where operations of the company are located.  Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, which can be found at www.lyb.com on the Investor Relations page and on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov. While the company makes these statements and projections in good faith, neither the company nor its management can guarantee that anticipated future results will be achieved. The company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements made by the company, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.