Pandemic delays big US petrochemical projects

The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed two large petrochemical projects planned for the US. Daelim Chemical has pulled out of an ethylene cracker project in Ohio that it had been developing with the Thai firm PTT Global Chemical. PTT says the project continues to be a top priority and that it will seek a new partner while working toward a final investment decision late this year or early next year. PTT acknowledges that the combination of the pandemic and oil price volatility have delayed the timeline for developing the plant by 6–9 months. PTT has been pursuing the project since at least 2015, when its partner was the Japanese trading firm Marubeni. Meanwhile, Chevron Phillips Chemical cites the pandemic for delaying a final investment decision on an $8 billion petrochemical facility it is considering building on the US Gulf Coast with Qatar Petroleum. The firms had intended to make the call on the plant next year. Chevron Phillips says it continues front-end engineering design.