Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP announced the completion of its study to expand normal alpha olefin (NAO) capacity at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas and receipt of approval to proceed with detailed engineering, design and procurement of long-lead equipment. The capacity expansion is targeting a 20 percent minimum increase in a phased approach. Final project approval will be sought in the first quarter of 2014.

Construction would be targeted to commence in the first quarter of 2014, and the project would be completed in the second quarter of 2015.

“This is a critical milestone in meeting our goals to remain a consistent and reliable supplier to our customers and to meet their growth strategies,” said Mitch Eichelberger, general manager of normal alpha olefins and polyalphaolefins for Chevron Phillips Chemical. “We are well-positioned to take full advantage of the abundant resources from shale resource development and to support our customers as they continue to grow their businesses.”

Normal alpha olefins and their derivatives are used extensively as polyethylene co-monomers, plasticizers, synthetic motor oils, lubricants, automotive additives, surfactants, paper sizing, and in a wide range of specialty applications.

Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC. With approximately 5,000 employees, the LLC and its affiliates own more than $9 billion in assets, including 38 manufacturing and research facilities in eight countries. Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC is equally owned by Chevron U.S.A. Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, and by wholly-owned subsidiaries of Phillips 66, and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.