Baytown, Texas — ExxonMobil is now targeting next year for the commissioning of a $2 billion expansion project in Texas, which includes the addition of major new capacity for polyolefin elastomers.
As announced in May 2019, the Baytown site expansion was expected to start up in 2022 and include a new unit with capacity to produce 400,000 metric tons per year of Vistamaxx polymer.
In an updated statement to European Rubber Journal, ExxonMobil said the project "continues to make good progress in support of a 2023 start-up of the $2 billion investment to expand its Baytown chemical plant."
The company did not comment on the reasons for the revised start-up date, but it confirmed that the expansion will include a new Vistamaxx unit as well as a world-scale linear alpha olefins unit.
As semi-crystalline polymers, with tunable amorphous content, Vistamaxx elastomers can be tailored to enhance elasticity, softness and flexibility as well as cling, sealability, clarity and adhesion properties in polymer materials
The products — incorporating the olefinic elastomers — are used in a wide range of applications in industries such as automotive, construction, consumer, hygiene and packaging.