Posted on 09/03/2015 1:41:13 PM PDT by robowombat
Formosa Petrochemical considering building $9.4B production complex in Louisiana
STEVE SANOSKI SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
Taiwan-based Formosa Petrochemical Corp. is studying the feasibility of building a $9.4 billion industrial complex in St. James Parish to produce ethylene and other chemical products, company officials and Gov. Bobby Jindal announced this afternoon.
A final investment decision is expected in mid-2016. If Formosa decides the investment makes financial sense, it would move forward with construction on the first phase of the project in late 2016, with hiring to begin in 2018. The project would create 1,200 new direct jobs paying an average annual salary of $84,500, plus benefits, Louisiana Economic Development estimates.
The state is offering Formosa an incentive package that includes a $12 million performance-based grant to offset infrastructure costs, with the grant to be paid in four equal annual installments beginning in 2018.
Formosa also would receive workforce development assistance via LED’s FastStart program, and it would benefit from Louisiana’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs. The former program provides a cash rebate of up to 6% of the company’s payroll for up to a decade for new jobs created, while the latter offers a full abatement of local property taxes for up to a decade on new capital investments.
The $9.4 billion project would be built in two phases on the west bank of the Mississippi River near the Gramercy bridge and would represent one of the largest single-site ethylene production complexes in the world.
Formosa operates Taiwan’s only privately owned oil refinery and naphtha cracking complex, serving global industrial activities that include oil refining, petrochemicals, plastic raw materials, secondary processing of plastics, electronic materials, machinery and transportation. Formosa has had a presence in Louisiana since 1981, with three plastics manufacturing locations in East Baton Rouge and Pointe Coupee parishes.
if its bad for soros....it wont fly..
if its good for soros...its a done deal.
This is the company that makes JM Eagle PVC pipe.
They are crooks.
Petro Ping.
This will bring the Green Mafia out of there squalid holes.
This gives them a definite advantage doing business in bayou country
Interesting. Please tell us more.
Lots of expansion in the petrochem side around the Gulf Coast, particularly ethane cracker related.
Related:
Moody’s: North American ethylene producers to retain edge through 2016 despite low oil prices
https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-North-American-ethylene-producers-to-retain-edge-through-2016—PR_333704
01 Sep 2015
Despite falling oil prices, North American ethylene producers that use natural gas liquids will hold the advantage of cheaper feedstock over producers in Europe, Asia and South America that use naphtha through at least the end of 2016, says Moody’s Investors Service.
“Although low oil prices are reducing naphtha costs for producers in Europe, Asia and South America and are creating competitive pressures for North American peers, North American exports of downstream plastics and chemicals remain profitable and operating rates will stay high,” says John Rogers, a Moody’s Senior Vice President.
The report, “North American Chemicals: Ethylene Producers Keep Competitive Advantage in 2016 Despite Lower Oil Prices,” notes that outages at several ethylene and polyethylene plants in North America kept supply tighter than anticipated in the first half of 2015, limiting margin declines. Moody’s expects that margins for North American ethylene producers will remain stronger than historical averages.
However, seven major petrochemical plants under construction today will likely come on stream by 2018, despite an implied reduction in investment returns. Projects include Chevron Phililips’ new Cedar Bayou, Texas facility and a new ExxonMobil Chemical facility.
“Whether North American producers’ price advantage will be good enough to justify the second wave of ethylene projects now in planning is uncertain,” adds Ben Nelson, a Moody’s Vice President - Senior Analyst.
People of Formosa Unite! Jobs are being exported from your country to the U.S.
You should put tariffs on all American imports and feel good about sending those tax dollars from your pockets to those great Formosan politicians. I’m sure they will spend it wisely.
In short: During the 1990s (possibly earlier although never actually proven) JM Eagle sold billions of dollars worth of defective and/or fraudulently “inspected” and certified PVC water pipe throughout the United States. They cut corners on their pvc formulations, they falsified testing documentation and AWWA Certifications. They were sued by hundreds of public utilities, cities, counties, states, etc. They lost the suit, but the settlement was trivial and would not even come close to covering the cost to replace the defective pipes.
Most of the pipe sold is still in the ground, a huge expense liability hanging over the heads (or maybe lying beneath the feet?) for public water system owners (and their customers) throughout the country.
The ruling made them liable only for [some] of the cost of the pipe itself - did not include allowances for actual cost of installation.
Formosa no longer owns JM Eagle.
Formosa was the resin supplier and used J-M as a in-house consumer of their resin. They have parted ways.
The problem was with the manufacture of the pipe, inspection and documentations, not with the resin used.
There were problems with their resin formulation, specifically related to exceeding the maximum specified amounts of recycled material for various types/classes pipe. They also routinely used recycled pvc pipe materials contaminated rubber gaskets they failed to remove prior to chopping up the plastic.
And Formosa DID own JM Eagle during the period the fraudulent pipe was being made and sold, so the fact that they no longer do is irrelevant to the case I described.
I did not claim Formosa does not know HOW to make pvc resin, I said they cut corners and that they are crooks.
Correction: “contaminated by rubber gaskets”
From the same link:
“One thing the plaintiffs came to realize in the course of the discovery was that there really was no [Formosa] control over the product formulations at JM. They [JM] decided what should go into their pipe and what belongs in the compound, and there was no control over manufacturing. We [Formosa] didn’t have a manufacturing officer. There was none of the kind of intrusive direction or control that you might see in other situations.”
Also, Formosa was not JM’s only resin supplier during the 10-year period, Williams said.
“We certainly were concerned that part of this case was going to be about raw materials,” he added. “It really wasn’t until the plaintiffs came to do their presentation in the phase one trial that they were very clear that they think the compound was good. They said good pipe can be made from the compound. We are not attacking the compound or its ingredients.”
From the same link:
“One thing the plaintiffs came to realize in the course of the discovery was that there really was no [Formosa] control over the product formulations at JM. They [JM] decided what should go into their pipe and what belongs in the compound, and there was no control over manufacturing. We [Formosa] didn’t have a manufacturing officer. There was none of the kind of intrusive direction or control that you might see in other situations.”
Also, Formosa was not JM’s only resin supplier during the 10-year period, Williams said.
“We certainly were concerned that part of this case was going to be about raw materials,” he added. “It really wasn’t until the plaintiffs came to do their presentation in the phase one trial that they were very clear that they think the compound was good. They said good pipe can be made from the compound. We are not attacking the compound or its ingredients.”
Yes, as I previously posted: I did not claim Formosa does not know HOW to make pvc resin, I said they cut corners and that they are crooks.
Formosa OWNED JM Eagle at the time the bad pipe was being manufactured. If they were not controlling, or at least monitoring, JM’s manufacturing process it is still on them.
The Crooks are at JM Eagle, not Formosa, as the trial showed.
Formosa was negligent in not overseeing the operation they owned. And that cost them $22.5 million. They had already sold the unit to the current owner, prior to the lawsuit.
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