MOSCOW (MRC) -- Costs have risen and startup schedules have been extended for Sasol Ltd.’s integrated ethane cracker and downstream derivatives complex under construction in Westlake, La., near Lake Charles, said
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Preliminary findings from a detailed review of the Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP) that began in March indicate total capital expenditures for the project, including site infrastructure and utility improvements, could increase to as much as USD11 billion from a previous estimate of USD8.9 billion, Sasol said.
The company attributed rising capex for LCCP to the interplay of several factors, including:
• Construction delays caused by higher-than-expected rainfall in the region.
• Higher labor costs.
• Increased prices under certain lump-sum contract bids.
• Bulk material requirements in excess of those included in original project estimates.
A policy to decelerate capital spending until June 2018 as part of Sasol’s low oil-price response plan also has contributed to further project cost increases as well as resulted in an extended project schedule for LCCP, the company said.
As MRC informed earlier, Sasol Ltd., the world’s biggest producer of liquid fuels from coal, said nine-month synthetic-fuels production climbed 3 percent from a year earlier, while output from its Oryx gas-to-liquids facility in Qatar declined.
Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It develops and commercialises technologies, including synthetic fuels technologies, and produces different liquid fuels, chemicals and electricity.
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