Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Group is seeking permits for $9.4 billion worth of new petrochemical facilities in St. James Parish, Bloomberg reports.
Formosa Petrochemical Corp. Executive Vice President Lin Keh-Yen says the company is waiting for Louisiana to authorize construction of the facilities. Formosa is also planning another $5 billion investment to expand production lines in Texas, another company executive says.
Louisiana officials announced in September 2015 that Formosa was studying the feasibility of building a $9.4 billion industrial complex in St. James Parish to produce ethylene and other chemical products. At that time, officials said a final investment decision was expected in mid-2016, and Louisiana Economic Development estimated the project would create 1,200 new direct jobs in southwest Louisiana. The state also said at that time that it was offering Formosa an incentive package that includes a $12 million performance-based grant to offset infrastructure costs.
In early 2016, Business Facilities magazine named the deal one of the nation’s top three of 2015.
“Seeking a permit solidifies that Formosa wants to do the project,” says Tony Potter, a vice president at IHS in Singapore. “Ethane prices will remain relatively low. Because of the lower cost, you have a situation where the U.S. ethane based production will be able to deliver polymer products into places like China cheaper than they can be made from naphtha in China and the surrounding countries like Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore.”
Bloomberg reports the company is joining other Asian companies in boosting investments in the U.S. amid President Donald Trump’s pledges to create American jobs.
