Parsons-Technip Team Wins Front-End Design For New American Acryl Plant

American Acryl has picked Parsons Energy & Chemicals Group Inc. (Houston, TX) and Technip Group (Paris, France) for the front-end design of a new, $150 million grass-roots complex at Bayport, TX. Parsons did not place a value on the contract, but estimates the cost of the new facility at $150 million when completed.

American Acryl is a 50-50 joint venture between Japan's Nippon Shokubai and France's Elf Atochem. The complex will include a 120,000 mt/y acrylic acid plant and a butyl acrylate unit. Startup is scheduled for 2001.

American Acryl will own the acrylic acid plant. It is based on Nippon Shokubai technology and catalysts, which produce more than half the world's acrylic acid. The companies will split the unit's output to supply their US operations. Nippon Shokubai will use it as feedstock to make superabsorbents, while Elf Atochem uses it for acrylic ester plastic additives.

Acrylic acid plants based on Nippon Shokubai technology produce more than half the world's acrylic acid. The company has formed a joint venture with Elf Atochem to build a US plant to supply the downstream operations of both companies. A Parsons-Technip team has won the contract.

Elf Atochem will be sole owner of the butyl acrylate plant, which will be located on the company's own site.

Both companies are major producers of acrylic acid on their home turf. Elf operates a 240,000 mt/y Nippon Shokubai process plant in Carling, France. Nippon Shokubai itself operates a 220,000 mt/y plant in Himeji, Japan and a 50% share of a 60,000 mt/y unit under construction in Indonesia.

Both are new to US acrylic acid production. They are also behind schedule. In 1997, when the companies announced their intention to build a joint-venture acrylic acid plant, they expected to open the butyl acrylate unit in 1999 and the acrylic acid plant in late 2000.

The new 220,000 mt/y unit will be smallish by US standards. Rohm and Haas, with 520,000 mt/y at Deer Park, TX, is the US market leader in acrylic acid. BASF with 300,000 mt/y at Freeport, TX, and Celanese with 275,000 mt/y at Clear Lake, TX, follow. Union Carbide operates a small unit at Taft, LA.

The Parsons-Technip award covers engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) for a green-field plant. This includes installation of all process equipment, utilities, manufacturing infrastructure, and storage and shipping facilities; receipt of raw materials; product shipment and/or transfer; and waste byproduct treatment.

"This is a major win for Parsons," says Parsons SVP/sector manager Harvey Rosenfeld. "By teaming with Technip we have offered American Acryl an outstanding combination of corporate petrochemical plant EPC expertise and individual team member experience in cost-driven project execution to meet this client's objectives."

Kvaerner (formerly John Brown in Houston) did the initial specification work on the project. Although Brown and Elf Atochem go back many years, Kvaerner did not make the first cut. In the end, it came down to Kellogg/Brown & Root and Parsons.

Parsons pulled out the contract even though it has no experience in acrylic acid. Two factors stand out in the win. First, American Acryl was concerned about cost and Parsons answered those concerns. Second, Parsons teamed with Technip, whose team included a number of professionals with whom Elf Atochem felt comfortable.

The most significant Parsons score in petrochemicals and plastics came in August 1997, when Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company (Kemya) chose it for a massive $1 billion facility upgrade of its LLDPE and high-pressure LDPE plants. Startup should come by the end of 2000. The award included program management, detailed engineering, procurement, and construction management.

Parsons is one of the world's largest engineering firms. In addition to petrochemicals and energy, it also has major efforts in infrastructure and transportation.

For more information: Harvey Rosenfeld, SVP/Sector Manager, Parsons Energy & Chemicals Group, 5 Greenway Plaza, Houston, TX 77046. Phone: 713-407-5079. Fax: 713-407-5097.

By Alan S. Brown