MOVING FORWARD: Wanhua Chemical Group Co. Ltd. will develop a $1.25 billion chemical manufacturing complex in the St. James Parish community of Convent. The 250-acre manufacturing site will be developed at the northwest corner of the intersection of Louisiana highways 3125 and 3214, on the east bank of the Mississippi River with deep-draft river access and available rail service. The complex will produce MDI, or methylene diphenyl diisocyanate. MDI is commonly used for polyurethane automotive parts, foams and elastomers, with applications in such consumer areas as appliances, electronics, spray-foam insulation, furniture, textiles and footwear. Read the announcement.
GREEN LIGHT: FERC staff has issued a positive draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the Plaquemines LNG and Gator Express Pipeline project, which include an LNG export terminal and related pipeline 30 miles south of New Orleans. The DEIS comes 20 months after the companies made their formal application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the 20 million metric ton/year (mmty) Plaquemines LNG facility, which would be constructed on a 632-acre site in Plaquemines Parish at river mile marker 55 on the Mississippi River. The FERC staff concluded that approval of the proposed project, with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIS, would have some adverse environmental impacts. However, the report notes that those impacts would be reduced to less-than-significant levels with the implementation of Venture Global’s proposed mitigation measures and the additional measures recommended in the draft EIS. Read the statement.
DIESEL EXPANSION: The Valero Energy Corp. Board of Directors has signed off on expanding the Diamond Green Diesel plant in Norco to 675 million gallons per year renewable diesel production capacity. With low-carbon mandates in North America and Europe projected to continue driving strong demand and premium pricing for renewable diesel, this expansion adds a second, independent parallel plant adjacent to the existing facility and a renewable naphtha finishing facility, which provides incremental low-carbon fuel standard credit generation capability. DGD is a joint venture formed between a subsidiary of Valero and Darling Ingredients Inc., the largest low-carbon feedstock supplier in the world. Read the announcement.
For a list of current industrial projects in south Louisiana, read 10/12 Industry Report‘s Project Tracker.
