Thailand’s Siam Cement Group (SCG) will invest an extra $700 million in the $5.2 billion Long Son Petrochemicals Complex (LSP) in Vietnam’s southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau to diversify its production.

In a Wednesday statement, SCG said it will utilize ethane imported from the United States as raw material for the complex. The project can significantly enhance its competitiveness through lower feedstock cost and flexibility and lower carbon emissions.

As LSP’s olefins process is designed for gas feedstock flexibility, the additional investment will focus on the handling and storage of ethane feedstock, which requires temperature as low as negative 90 degrees Celsius.

Once operational, LSP will utilize ethane as much as two thirds of the total feedstock, in addition to propane and naphtha.

SCG Chemicals Public Company Limited (SCGC), a subsidiary of SCG, started land preparation for the Long Son Petrochemicals Complex in 2018, started up all utilities in 2022, and conducted a full complex test run in December 2023.

LSP began its commercial operation (COD) on September 30, with an initial production output of 74,000 tons during the trial phase. At full capacity, the complex’s annual output will include 1.4 million tons of polyethylene and polypropylene.

In light of the existing petrochemical trough with historical low margin and the current volatile global economic environment, LSP is “closely monitoring” the market situation and will adjust the run rate of its operation during this challenging period for petrochemical business, SCG stressed.

“The LSP plant has temporarily halted operations to manage overall business costs, with plans to reassess operations when conditions are more favorable,” SCG added.