French, Austrian and Canadian companies to invest $1.7 billion in new petrochemical company in Texas

Fuel Fix:
French oil major Total SA announced on Monday that it has agreed to form a joint venture to build a Gulf Coast petrochemicals operation with Austrian and Canadian companies Borealis AG and NOVA Chemicals Corp.

The companies will together build a $1.7 billion ethane steam cracker alongside Total's Port Arthur refinery and the existing cracker it operates with BASF. The project, expected to produce 2.2 billion pounds of ethylene annually, is now under construction and slated to start up in 2020.

The venture will also include a new polyethylene unit at Total's Bayport complex, as well as the company's existing polyethylene facility there.
...
Total will own half of the venture, and Novealis Holdings LLC, together owned by Austria's Borealis and Canada's NOVA Chemicals, will own the remaining half.
This investment would have never happened without fracking for natural gas.  It is another example of how Europe's green energy policies have pushed investments and jobs into the US.  The refusal of European countries to allow fracking wells has been very costly for their industry.  The alternative energy crowd has no viable alternative to teh petrochemical business.

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