MEGlobal to build monoethylene glycol plant at Texas Dow site

MEGlobal, a subsidiary of EQUATE Petrochemical Company, plans to build a monoethylene glycol (MEG) manufacturing facility at Dow’s Oyster Creek site in Freeport, Texas.

The new Oyster Creek structure will be owned by MEGlobal as the company's first manufacturing unit in the United States. The plant will create 1,400 jobs during construction; afterwards, the company will employ approximately 50 new workers when the facility opens in 2019.

“The Oyster Creek site provides MEGlobal with greater flexibility to satisfy our customers’ needs for consistent and reliable delivery of ethylene glycol products, especially in the growing U.S. and Asian markets,” Ramesh Ramachandran, president of MEGlobal International FZE, said.

The site will also benefit from a long-term ethylene supply agreement with Dow.

“Establishing MEG production in the U.S. Gulf Coast is an important investment for us as it greatly enhances our global footprint and is directly aligned to our growth strategy to maximize value as a leading ethylene glycol producer and supplier,” Mohammad Husain, president and CEO of EQUATE, said. “Additionally, ethylene producer economics through a long-term supply agreement with Dow provide a unique competitiveness for the production plant.”

Equate is an international joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company, the Dow Chemical Company, Boubyan Petrochemical Company and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company.

“The MEGlobal investment in the U.S. Gulf Coast fits the diversification and growth strategy of PIC," PIC CEO Mohammed Abdullatif Al-Farhoud said. "We continue to look for opportunities in the petrochemical area across the globe to expand our footprint and diversify our portfolio. We are very pleased that our U.S. Gulf Coast investment strategy is moving towards implementation.”