Mitsubishi Chemical Group said Wednesday that it will postpone for up to 18 months a final investment decision on a methyl methacrylate plant that is plans to build in Geismar, Louisiana. The company attributed the delay to “current market volatilities.”
The company said it is still working to obtain necessary permits for wetlands disturbance and air emissions and that it expects to receive them and make the final decision during its 2023 fiscal year, which will begin next April 1.
Front end engineering design has already been completed for the facility, which is designed for capacity to produce 350,000 metric tons per year of methyl methacrylates, chemicals that are used to make viscosity modifiers for lubricants, among other applications.
Mitsubishi Chemical claims to be the world’s largest producer of methyl methacrylates, which are used to make polymethacrylate viscosity modifiers, as well as headlight covers, signboards, paints and aquarium tanks. The facility would be Mitsubishi’s third factory to make methyl methacrylates from plant materials, a process the company has been employing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.