A 50/50 joint venture (JV) between TotalEnergies and Borealis, Bayport Polymers LLC (“Baystar”), announced the commercial operation of a new ethane cracker with an annual production capacity of one million tons of ethylene.

The nearly $2 billion project represents 14 million hours of labor with more than 2,500 workers at peak construction on the site of the TotalEnergies Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.

Baystar will use the ethylene produced by the cracker to feed its existing polyethylene (PE) units, as well as a new Borstar® technology unit currently under construction.

A new Borstar® technology polyethylene unit is currently under construction in Bayport, Texas, which will utilize ethylene produced by the cracker as feedstock.

“After significant investments in U.S. LNG and renewable electricity in 2022, the start-up of this new cracker is another milestone strengthening TotalEnergies’ presence in the United States,” said Bernard Pinatel, President, Refining & Chemicals, TotalEnergies.

A joint venture between TotalEnergies and Borealis in the United States, Baystar includes:

A 400,000 ton-per-year PE capacity is available at the Baystar site in Bayport, Texas.

TotalEnergies Port Arthur Refinery now operates a million-ton ethane cracker.

A 625,000-metric-ton-per-year PE unit under construction in Bayport, using Borealis’ proprietary Borstar® technology to help meet growing global plastic demand.