Shell Polymers Plant

Within the Ethane Cracking Unit (ECU) alone, there are over 200 vessels and 95 miles of pipe.

Largest structure on site is the “quench tower” in the cracking unit, which is approximately 300-feet tall and 29-feet in diameter, 2000 metric tons in weight; the tower is a key part of the ethane cracking unit.

Tallest structure on the site are the two purge bins that are within the section of the plant that houses the polyethylene units. Those structures are approximately 380 feet tall. Those structures will function as holding tanks where PE pellets receive pre-finishing treatment.

The cooling tower – which is slightly upriver from the ECU is over 900 feet long with 32 fans, each of which is 32-feet in diameter.

The site will generate its own power – a total of 250 megawatts per day – using natural gas and steam. On a typical operational day, approximately one-third of that power will be exported to the grid.

Three polyethylene units will have a combined annual production of approximately 1.6 million metric tons (3.5 billion pounds).