Dow’s New Ethylene Production Facility Receives 2017 Global Best Project Award from Engineering News-Record
Dow’s new light hydrocarbons production facility in Freeport, Texas and contractor Fluor Corporation recognized with an Award of Merit by ENR in its 2017 Global Best Project Awards
The Dow Chemical Company, a subsidiary of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), announced that Engineering News-Record has granted an Award of Merit in the 2017 Global Best Project Awards to Fluor Corporation, which was contracted for the construction of Dow’s new light hydrocarbons production facility in Freeport, Texas. The project, representing the cornerstone of Dow’s $6 billion first wave of Gulf Coast investments, was recognized in the Power/Industrial category of the fifth annual award competition.
Mechanical construction of the facility was completed on schedule in March 2017, bringing to fruition an investment that was first announced in 2011 to advance the Dow’s global growth strategy. In collaboration with the Dow program team, Fluor provided engineering, procurement, and construction services for facility that began producing ethylene in September. With nameplate capacity of 1.5 million tons per year using both ethane and propane as feedstocks, the unit will be expanded to 2 million metric tons as part of Dow’s next wave of growth investments, making it the world’s largest ethylene facility.
“Dow and Fluor leveraged lessons learned from previous joint projects and truly worked as one team to keep our first-mover advantage intact,” said Ron Huijsmans, Dow’s U.S. Gulf Coast program director. “From overcoming flooding at a Louisiana facility that was used to fabricate pipe for the project to innovative use of tower cranes and the modular concept for the pipe racks to improve safety and efficiency, this team found solutions to challenges all along the way, enabling us to complete the facility safely and on schedule.”
According to Doug May, president of Dow’s Olefins, Aromatics and Alternatives business, the project is critical to Dow’s competitive advantage. “I want to congratulate the Dow-Fluor project team for receiving this award, which recognizes the incredible innovation and collaboration that went into this new, capital-efficient facility, which positions Dow for growth for decades to come,” he said. “This addition to Dow’s Gulf Coast cracker fleet enhances our feedstock flexibility, enables us to capitalize on plentiful shale gas resources, supports growth for our customers and generates value for our shareholders.”
To bring the massive construction project to completion, the Dow-Fluor team used multiple international engineering centers and global experts. At peak activity, the construction phase involved more than 3,000 Dow employees and contractors. The project achieved more than five million consecutive work hours without a lost-time incident.
Representatives from Fluor and Dow accepted the ENR Award of Merit at the Global Best Projects Awards Dinner held in New York City on October 23, 2017. To learn more about ENR’s Global Best Projects competition, visit www.GlobalBestProjects.com.
