ExxonMobil Delays 2.2 Million Tons/Year Ethylene Project
2025-10-17
Recently, ExxonMobil announced that it will delay the development progress of a proposed new polyethylene (PE) project. In a statement, ExxonMobil said, "Based on current market conditions, we will slow down the advancement of the ¡äCoastal Plain Project¡ä." The company had previously been considering locating this project in Calhoun County, Texas.
It is reported that ExxonMobil originally planned to build an ethane cracker in the "Coastal Plain Project", with an annual ethylene production capacity of 2.2 million tons. At the same time, it planned to construct a supporting downstream metallocene linear low-density polyethylene (mLLDPE) plant. The capacity scale has not yet been finalized, with an initial consideration of 1.8 million to 2.7 million tons per year.
The "Coastal Plain Project" is still in the preliminary planning stage, and ExxonMobil has not yet announced the Final Investment Decision (FID). The project came to light through materials submitted by ExxonMobil for applying to Texas¡ä tax incentive program. According to the application documents, the "Coastal Plain Project" is currently in the second phase of development, and construction may start as early as 2026, with production expected around 2031. In addition, ExxonMobil mentioned in the application that it is considering deploying similar projects in multiple regions such as the Middle East, other parts of North America, China, India, and Indonesia. Notably, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indonesian government in November 2023 to explore the possibility of developing petrochemical projects locally.
ExxonMobil did not specify details of the market environment leading to the project delay, but market insiders said that since the project application was submitted at the end of 2024, the global market has undergone many changes. On one hand, after the United States imposed additional tariffs on most regions around the world, many economists have lowered their global GDP growth forecasts. On the other hand, the ethylene and polyethylene markets have long faced overcapacity issues. ICIS predicts that the market is not expected to bottom out and recover until 2028 to 2029. Earlier, Dow Chemical had suspended its "Path2Zero Polyethylene Project" in Canada, which had already completed the Final Investment Decision (FID) at that time.
It is reported that ExxonMobil originally planned to build an ethane cracker in the "Coastal Plain Project", with an annual ethylene production capacity of 2.2 million tons. At the same time, it planned to construct a supporting downstream metallocene linear low-density polyethylene (mLLDPE) plant. The capacity scale has not yet been finalized, with an initial consideration of 1.8 million to 2.7 million tons per year.
The "Coastal Plain Project" is still in the preliminary planning stage, and ExxonMobil has not yet announced the Final Investment Decision (FID). The project came to light through materials submitted by ExxonMobil for applying to Texas¡ä tax incentive program. According to the application documents, the "Coastal Plain Project" is currently in the second phase of development, and construction may start as early as 2026, with production expected around 2031. In addition, ExxonMobil mentioned in the application that it is considering deploying similar projects in multiple regions such as the Middle East, other parts of North America, China, India, and Indonesia. Notably, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indonesian government in November 2023 to explore the possibility of developing petrochemical projects locally.
ExxonMobil did not specify details of the market environment leading to the project delay, but market insiders said that since the project application was submitted at the end of 2024, the global market has undergone many changes. On one hand, after the United States imposed additional tariffs on most regions around the world, many economists have lowered their global GDP growth forecasts. On the other hand, the ethylene and polyethylene markets have long faced overcapacity issues. ICIS predicts that the market is not expected to bottom out and recover until 2028 to 2029. Earlier, Dow Chemical had suspended its "Path2Zero Polyethylene Project" in Canada, which had already completed the Final Investment Decision (FID) at that time.