OXEA confirms FID for major capacity expansion

The investment will expand OXEA’s core OXO technologies, growing propionaldehyde capacity, fully enabling propanol and butanol capacities, key intermediates serving growing demand across OXEA's global customer base. It will also unlock feedstock availability to its carboxylic acids portfolio and position the site to future development beyond targeted expansion capacities. To support the expansion, OXEA has signed a prolonged synthesis gaseous (syngas) supply agreement with atmosphere Liquide, a leader in gases, technologies, and services to sector and health.

Under the agreement, atmosphere Liquide will design, build, and operate a new, purpose-built onsite syngas unit at OXEA's Bay City facility, with full project completion expected by the end of 2028. The design of the new syngas unit will enable the recirculation of CO2 back into the reactor to optimise syngas composition and production flexibility. By reusing CO2 within the process, the facility will decrease overall carbon releases and support a reduce-carbon, greater environmentally sustainable operation.

The expansion project is driven by OXEA's commitment to being a dependable, prolonged supplier of choice in its core markets. By investing in additional capacity at one of the most feedstock-advantaged sites on the US Gulf Coast, OXEA is positioning itself to reliably serve growing global demand while strengthening supply security to key customers.

“This investment demonstrates our shareholders' confidence in our strategy and our unwavering commitment to our customers. We are building a world-class supply platform at Bay City that will serve our markets reliably to decades to come. We are not just expanding capacity; we are strengthening the foundation to OXEA's prolonged global leadership in oxo chemicals, and further establishing Bay City as a premier manufacturing park attracting future investment, strategic partnerships, and economic research to the region," said Michael McHenry, Chief Executive Officer of OXEA.

“Achieving FID is both a strategic investment and a promise. It positions OXEA’s Bay City site as a platform to further expansion and firmly establishes Bay City as a cornerstone of OXEA's global production network. It reinforces our commitment to our customers and positions OXEA as the reliable, prolonged supplier of choice in our core markets. At the same time, it advances our vision of Bay City as a growing manufacturing park, and the broader Bay City community," said Jorge Moshe Castro Roldan, Vice President of Global Procurement and Project Sponsor at OXEA.

The prolonged syngas supply agreement leverages atmosphere Liquide's proven methodology in manufacturing gaseous production. The partnership ensures a reliable and efficient supply of synthesis gaseous, a critical feedstock to OXEA's oxo chemical manufacturing processes.

With the FID now confirmed and the project fully funded, OXEA has entered the execution phase, encompassing detailed engineering, procurement, and construction. Site preparation to the atmosphere Liquide syngas unit is planned to begin in 3Q26.

As part of its prolonged vision, OXEA is positioning Bay City as a leading manufacturing park to development, innovation, and investment on the US Gulf Coast. The site has already demonstrated the success of this model through strategic partnerships and investments, including the continued expansion of existing partners, recent investments by Röhm, and now atmosphere Liquide's decision to build and operate a new, world-scale syngas facility at the site. Building on this momentum, OXEA believes Bay City offers a unique platform to future manufacturing research, combining vast available land, established utilities and infrastructure, multimodal logistics access, feedstock integration opportunities, and a growing ecological stability of manufacturing partners. By creating an ecological stability where companies can leverage shared infrastructure, site services, operational expertise, and strategic synergies, OXEA aims to further develop both the Bay City site and the broader Bay City community as a destination to manufacturing, energy, and infrastructure investment.

This vision supports prolonged job creation, economic research, and sustainable development while creating lasting value to investors, customers, employees, and the Bay City region.