This has been announced by Governor John Bel Edwards and CEO Soon Hyo “Steve” Chung of Lotte Chemical USA. The company will move its headquarters from Houston to Lake Charles. In addition to Lotte Chemical’s MEG plant, the company is investing in a $1.9 billion joint venture with Westlake Chemical to build an ethane cracker complex, also under construction on the 250-acre site that will be home to the MEG plant and future headquarters.

Combined, the joint venture, MEG plant and headquarters represent more than $ three billion in new capital investment, 265 new direct jobs, and more than 2,300 new indirect jobs in Lake Charles and surrounding areas.

“Southwest Louisiana is undergoing an industrial renaissance with record amounts of domestic and foreign-direct investment in new chemical and energy projects. We are proud to be increasing our profile as one of the world’s great energy providers. By capitalising on these new major investments in manufacturing, we also are recruiting some of the best jobs that connect Louisiana’s energy corridor to the corporate boardroom. Lotte Chemical’s decision to move 50 high-paying corporate jobs to Lake Charles demonstrates how we are diversifying and strengthening our economy for the next generation,” Edwards said.

Lotte Chemical USA is part of the Seoul-based Lotte Group, South Korea’s fifth-largest company with $79 billion in annual revenue and more than 180,000 employees worldwide. Both plants are expected to begin operating in 2019.

With Westlake Chemical, Lotte Chemical will split the output of the one million tonnes per year of ethylene produced by the ethane cracker. Westlake Chemical will convert its ethylene to plastics and other derivatives, while Lotte Chemical will produce monoethylene glycol, a key ingredient in the making of paper, textile fibres, latex paints, asphalt, resins, antifreeze, coolants and adhesives. The Lake Charles site is expected to be the largest MEG plant in the US.

“We, at Lotte Chemical, are very proud of this project, as it represents a significant investment for us. We selected Louisiana as the site for the state-of-the-art, steam-cracking facility and adjacent ethylene glycol plant due to the advantages of existing infrastructure, including access to competitive feedstock resources, as well as the distribution infrastructure and a skilled and well-trained workforce,” CEO Steve Chung said. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India