May 25, 2018   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Oxea Announces New Propanol Unit in Bay City Mechanically Complete

Oxea’s new world-scale propanol production unit at its Bay City site in Texas, USA, is mechanically complete. The new facility “Propanol 2” is now being commissioned and is scheduled for commercial production in the third quarter of 2018. With a nameplate capacity of 100,000 mt per annum of n-propanol, Propanol 2 is currently one of Oxea’s largest investment projects. Utilizing Oxea’s advanced proprietary process technology and its comprehensive process know-how, process stability in the new unit will be improved, achieving an even higher product quality. Furthermore, Propanol 2 will produce less undesirable byproducts due to optimized and more efficient production.

“At Oxea, work safety was paramount for the plant construction project, and accordingly we achieved an exceptional health and safety performance. Despite challenges like delays due to Hurricane Harvey, the construction of Propanol 2 is currently ahead of schedule and within budget. The collaboration between our experienced and highly qualified project, construction management, and construction contractor teams and the Oxea operations group was outstanding,” said Markus Heuwes, Propanol 2 Project Director at Oxea.

“Propanol 2 has been constructed in line with our long-term selective growth strategy driven by our CEO, Dr Salim Al Huthaili, and will be a game changer to the markets. With our new additional capacity, Oxea can expand further into existing and future growth markets. Propanol 2 is also a token of our confidence in the competitiveness of the US petrochemical industry and underlines the importance of our Bay City production site,” explained Naoko Roth, Oxea’s Marketing Director US Oxo Intermediates.

Photo: http://www.oxea-chemicals.com/propanol-2/

About Oxea

Oxea is a global manufacturer of oxo intermediates and oxo derivatives, such as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters, and amines. These products are used for the production of high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, flavorings and fragrances, printing inks and plastics. Oxea employs more than 1,400 people worldwide. Oxea is part of the Oman Oil Company S.A.O.C. (OOC), a commercial company wholly owned by the Government of Oman. Established in 1996, it pursues investment opportunities in the wider energy sector both inside and outside Oman. OOC plays an important role in the Sultanate's efforts to diversify the economy and to promote domestic and foreign investments. For more information about Oxea, visit www.oxea-chemicals.com