Cracker ‘fundamentals intact’ despite cost rise to worst-case $11bn

Sasol joint CEO Stephen Cornell insists that the “fundamentals” of the Lake Charles Chemical Project (LCCP), in the US state of Louisiana, remain intact despite confirmation that the project’s costs have increased to the ‘worst case’ projection of $11-billion, from an initial forecast of $8.9-billion. The JSE-listed energy and chemicals group is building a 1.5-million-ton-a-year ethane cracker, as well as six downstream chemical units in Louisiana. Besides the cracker, the LCCP incorporates two large polymers plants, an ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol plant and three smaller, higher-value derivative plants, which will produce specialty alcohols, ethoxylates and other products.