Borealis and TotalEnergies Start Up Polyethylene Unit in Texas

Photo: Baystar Bay 3 polyethylene plant. © Baystar

Borealis and TotalEnergies celebrate the start-up of their Baystar joint venture’s new 625,000 metric ton-per-year Borstar® polyethylene (PE) unit, which more than doubles the current production capacity at Baystar’s site in Pasadena, Texas.

The new USD 1.4 billion unit completes the partners’ integrated petrochemicals venture, which includes the expanded Bayport PE facility, and the ethane cracker at the TotalEnergies Platform in Port Arthur, Texas.

The new PE unit, referred to as Bay 3, increases the Baystar site’s total production to over one million tons per year, which includes two legacy polyethylene production units. Bay 3 features the state-of-the-art proprietary Borstar® 3G Technology licensed in North America for the first time. Borstar technology delivers advanced value-added polymers with enhanced sustainability by enabling light-weighting and the incorporation of greater amounts of post-consumer recycled materials in a variety of end products, serving the energy, infrastructure and consumer products industries.

“The arrival of Borealis’ proprietary Borstar technology in North America by way of Baystar marks, in line with our owners’ strategies, a crucial step for us in becoming a global leader in advanced and sustainable chemicals and material solutions,” said Borealis CEO, Thomas Gangl.

“After the inauguration of the ethane cracker unit in Port Arthur last year, the start-up of the new PE unit is the second milestone of this joint venture aimed at establishing Baystar as a fully integrated U.S. petrochemical player. The fruition of this venture also advances TotalEnergies’ ambition to grow in the United States,” said Bernard Pinatel, President, Refining & Chemicals, TotalEnergies.