Bayport Polymers LLC, a joint venture of Total S.A. and Novealis Holdings LLC – a joint venture of Borealis AG and NOVA Chemicals Inc. – held the official groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new ethane cracker at the Total Port Arthur Refinery.

The new USD 1.7-billion ethane cracker is the first project under construction by the recently formed Bay-Pol joint venture.

The new one million ton per year (Mt/y) ethane cracker is being built alongside Total’s Port Arthur Refinery and the existing Total/BASF steam cracker and is expected to start up in 2020. About 1,500 jobs will be created during the peak engineering and construction activity, and, once fully operational, the cracker will require about 60 full-time jobs.

“This is an important milestone for our new company,” said Diane Chamberlain, Bay-Pol president.

The groundbreaking ceremony saw senior executives of the joint venture in attendance, including Bernard Pinatel, president, Refining & Chemicals, Total, Mark Garrett, CEO, Borealis, Todd Karran, CEO, NOVA Chemicals, alongside Diane Chamberlain and the Bay-Pol leadership team.

“We are excited to see the construction of our first project in the joint venture with Borealis and NOVA. This project is in perfect alignment with Total’s strategy to expand in petrochemicals by leveraging our integrated platforms like Port Arthur and taking advantage of the abundance of ethane in the U.S. With our partners, we are ready to provide for the growing demand for superior products to the marketplace,” said Bernard Pinatel, president, Refining & Chemicals, Total.

“We are excited to see this project come to fruition and officially break ground. The new ethane steam cracker is a key growth initiative for Borealis. Our partnership with Total and NOVA Chemicals will position us as a leader in the U.S. and allow us to deploy sophisticated technology with our partners,” said Borealis Chief Executive Mark Garrett.

“The ethane steam cracker is the first phase of our joint venture with Total and Borealis, which will help us gain additional access to the U.S. Gulf Coast. This project will allow us to better serve our customers throughout the Americas by delivering a broader slate of products that help make everyday life healthier, easier and safer,” said Todd Karran, CEO, NOVA Chemicals.

Bay-Pol is a joint venture 50% owned by Total and 50% owned by Novealis Holdings LLC, a joint venture between Borealis and NOVA Chemicals. The JV combines Total’s existing Bayport, Texas, polyethylene 400 kt/y facility with the Borealis proprietary Borstar® technology and NOVA Chemicals’ deep customer and technical expertise in polyethylene to deliver a broad range of products to help meet the growing global demand for plastic products. It also includes the under-construction 1Mt/y ethane steam cracker in Port Arthur, Texas, and a new 625 kt/y Borstar® polyethylene unit at the Bayport site subject to Final Investment Decision.