Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and officials with Shell Chemical highlighted the beginning of constructionfor the company’s $717-million linear alpha olefins manufacturing plant in Geismar.

Numerous Shell executives and Louisiana government officials came together on Tuesday for a groundbreaking ceremony at the company’s Ashland Belle-Helene reception center.

The project will make Shell Chemical’s Geismar location the largest single-site producer of alpha olefins in the world. In addition, the Shell Chemical project will retain 650 existing jobs in Geismar; create 20 new direct jobs with an average annual salary of $104,000, plus benefits; and result in an estimated 93 new indirect jobs, for a total of more than 110 new jobs in the region and surrounding areas.

“We are proud of Louisiana’s status as one of the world’s great markets for the petrochemical industry," said Edwards. "Shell Chemical is one of our most important economic driver companies, and we salute them for recognizing Louisiana as the most competitive location for expanding their production with this next-generation investment. We look forward to continued success for Shell Chemical and for the many hard-working Louisiana employees who contribute to that success."

The three-year project will culminate with Shell Chemical beginning operation of the new manufacturing plant in early 2018. The company has selected Baton Rouge-based Turner Industries as its general constructioncontractor. 

At peak building activity, the project is expected to generate 1,500 construction jobs.

“We’re excited to be formally breaking ground for the AO-4 expansion, a project that will reinforce Shell Geismar’s position as a key contributor to the economic vitality of our region and our state,” said Rhoman Hardy, Shell Geismar's general manager. “We’d like to express our appreciation to the Louisiana Department of Economic Development for their invaluable assistance in making the AO-4 project a reality.”

The new manufacturing plant will produce intermediate chemicals that are crucial for a variety of consumer and industrial products, including packaging plastics, synthetic lubricants, drilling fluids and household detergents. 

Capacity of the linear alpha olefins unit will be 425,000 tpy, and the new plant will be the fourth alpha olefins production plant on the 800-acre site, where Shell Chemical has operated since 1967.

The Louisiana Economic Development (LED) board began discussing a potential project with Shell in November 2013. To secure the project, the state offered a competitive incentive package that includes the comprehensive solutions of LED FastStart – the nation’s No. 1 state workforce development program. In addition, the company is expected to utilize Louisiana’s Enterprise Zone and Industrial Tax Exemptionprograms.