Grace, Chevron venture ART to build world-scale US Gulf catalysts plant

WR Grace & Co. today announced that Advanced Refining Technologies (ART), the company’s joint venture with Chevron, will invest approximately $135 million to build a residue hydroprocessing catalyst plant and additional alumina capacity at the existing Grace manufacturing facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana. 

Construction is expected to begin in late 2015 with completion anticipated in 2018.  

An ever-increasing global push for bottom-of-the-barrel upgrading is leading to a significant increase in investment by refiners for fixed bed resid hydrotreating and ebullating bed resid hydrocracking process technologies. The new ART plant will be designed to meet the increased catalyst requirements for these units, which are licensed and already under construction.

“This will be a world-class, world-scale catalysts plant that is responding to strong global demand for ART’s industry-leading products for residue upgrading, capitalizing on the success of our licensing partner, Chevron Lummus Global,” said Fred Festa, Grace CEO.

"We are pleased that this investment with Grace will keep ART and Chevron at the forefront of hydroprocessing catalysis and technology,” added Mike Wirth, Chevron's executive vice president of downstream and chemicals.

One of the largest refining catalysts plants in the world, Lake Charles represents a significant portion of Grace's refining catalyst manufacturing capacity. Operating in Southwest Louisiana since 1953, the Lake Charles facility supplies major refiners around the globe.

The 120-acre site consists of four major operations producing fluid cracking catalysts, hydroprocessing catalysts, and other intermediates. 

Over the past six years, Grace has made capital investments of over $100 million at the Lake Charles facility. This includes an expansion to enable increased production of specialty aluminas, a key raw material in fluid cracking and hydroprocessing catalysts, and a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant.