MEGlobal, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EQUATE Petrochemical Company and fully integrated supplier of monoethylene glycol (MEG) and diethylene glycol (DEG), collectively known as ethylene glycol (EG) has officially broken ground on its new 750,000 t/y MEG plant at Dow’s Oyster Creek site in Freeport, Texas, USA. The new Oyster Creek MEG facility will be owned by MEGlobal and is the Company’s first manufacturing unit in the United States.

The facility is due to be completed in 2019, and will utilize the “Meteor” process of former parent Dow Chemical which is currently building a 1.5m t/y ethane cracker at the site, output of which will help feed MEGlobal’s plant.

The new MEGlobal plant will create 1,400 construction jobs at the project’s peak, and the Company will employ approximately 50 new workers when it goes on stream in mid-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, said Ramesh Ramachandran, president, MEGlobal International FZE.

Additionally, the new site will benefit through a long-term ethylene supply agreement with Dow from its new ethylene cracker.

Establishing MEG production in the U.S. Gulf Coast is an important investment for them as it greatly enhances their global footprint and is directly aligned to their growth strategy to maximize value as a leading ethylene glycol producer and supplier, said Equate CEO Mohammad Husain.

The new plant will enable them to meet rising demand for ethylene glycol throughout the world, especially in the USA and Asia. MEG is used in a number of market applications, including polyester fibers, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and packaging, antifreeze and coolants, paints, resins, deicing fluids, heat transfer fluids and construction materials.

MEGlobal serves customers around the world, and has production facilities in Fort Saskatchewan and Prentiss, Alberta, Canada.