ExxonMobil to add 400ktpa elastomers capacity in Baytown

Irving, Texas – ExxonMobil is increasing its production capacity for olefinic elastomers as part of a $2-billion (€1.8-billion) expansion project in Baytown, Texas.

Due for start-up in 2022, the programme includes a new 400-kilotonnes-per-annum (ktpa) unit to manufacture Vistamaxx ethylene/propylene-based copolymers, the company announced.

Combining toughness and elasticity, the metallocene-catalysed polymers are used in applications ranging from film materials to sealing products.

The Baytown expansion project will also include a 350ktpa plant to produce linear alpha olefins, for use in waxes and polyethylene packaging among other applications.

ExxonMobil’s Baytown facility is claimed to be the largest integrated petrochemical complex in the US.

Overall, the recently-announced expansion project is expected to create some 2,000 jobs at the complex.