Oxea Achieves Major Milestone: Successful Start-up of New Propanol Production Unit at Bay City, Texas, USA

MONHEIM AM RHEIN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The global chemical company Oxea has successfully started up its new 100,000 mt per annum world-scale production unit “Propanol 2” at its Bay City, Texas, USA, site. The now fully operational, state-of-the-art unit will increase Oxea’s North American production capacity for n-propanol by 75 percent. Construction and commissioning of the new unit were completed incident-free, ahead of schedule and under budget. Oxea has used its proprietary process technology and process expertise to optimize production and improve product yield at Propanol 2. The first specification grade batches of material from the new unit have already been shipped to customers.


“I am proud to say that the new propanol production unit has been successfully started up incident-free and ahead of schedule. Propanol 2 demonstrated both quality and capacity deliverables sooner than expected and is now fully integrated into existing operations. The successful start-up was the result of excellent teamwork between the project team, operations, engineering, and contractors. Leveraging Oxea’s knowledge as the world leader in propanol production, the new unit will be a foundation for on-going optimization and growth,” commented Fred Gaytan, Site Director Bay City and Bishop at Oxea.

“Propanol 2 is a critical part of our selective growth strategy and a commitment to our Bay City production site. The new unit has been one of our largest investment projects in the past years. With its successful start-up, we achieved a major milestone on our roadmap and further strengthened our global production platform,” said Oxea’s CEO, Dr. Salim Al Huthaili. “With the increased n-propanol volume, we can now better serve the growing needs of existing and new customers worldwide. This particularly applies to Propyls from Oxea, a blend of n-propanol and n-propyl acetate. They are touted as a game changer for the rotogravure and flexographic printing industry because with our Propyls print shops can achieve higher print quality and produce more economically at the same time,” he concluded.

About Oxea
Oxea is a global manufacturer of oxo intermediates and oxo derivatives, such as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters, and amines. These products are used for the production of high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, flavorings and fragrances, printing inks and plastics. Oxea employs more than 1,400 people worldwide. Oxea is part of the Oman Oil Company S.A.O.C. (OOC), a commercial company wholly owned by the Government of Oman. Established in 1996, it pursues investment opportunities in the wider energy sector both inside and outside Oman. OOC plays an important role in the Sultanate's efforts to diversify the economy and to promote domestic and foreign investments. For more information about Oxea, visit www.oxea-chemicals.com


Contacts

OXEA GmbH
Thorsten Ostermann
Communications and Press Relations
Phone: +49 (0)2173 9993 3009
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