TPC Group, previously known as Texas Petrochemicals, is a

petrochemicals Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...

manufacturing company based in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, and is a large producer of

butadiene 1,3-Butadiene () is the organic compound with the formula (CH2=CH)2. It is a colorless gas that is easily condensed to a liquid. It is important industrially as a precursor to synthetic rubber. The molecule can be viewed as the union of two viny ...

MTBE Methyl ''tertiary''-butyl ether (MTBE), also known as methyl tert-butyl ether and ''tert''-butyl methyl ether, is an organic compound with a structural formula (CH3)3COCH3. MTBE is a volatile, flammable, and colorless liquid that is sparingly sol ...

, and

polyisobutylene Polyisobutene (polyisobutylene) is a class of organic polymers prepared by polymerization of isobutene. The polymers often have the formula Me3C H2CMe2sub>nX (Me = CH3, X = H, F). They are typically colorless gummy solids. Polymerization is typ ...

. TPC has operations in Houston and

Port Neches, Texas Port Neches is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,692 at the 2020 census, up from 13,040 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area. History The area known as Port Nech ...

, and

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu ...

Products

In 2011, TPC led the market in

(35% market share),

butene-1 1-Butene (or 1-Butylene) is the organic compound with the formula CH3CH2CH=CH2. It is a colorless gas that is easily condensed to give a colorless liquid. It is classified as a linear alpha-olefin. It is one of the isomers of butene (butylene). I ...

(35% market share), polyisobutylene (PIB) (60% market share), and was near the top of the market in both

isobutylene Isobutylene (or 2-methylpropene) is a hydrocarbon with the chemical formula . It is a four-carbon branched alkene (olefin), one of the four isomers of butylene. It is a colorless flammable gas, and is of considerable industrial value. Productio ...

and propylene derivatives.

History

The Houston plant was authorized in 1942 as part of the United States Rubber Reserve Program, and opened in 1944 operated by Sinclair Rubber. It was subsequently purchased by a joint venture of

Tenneco Tenneco (formerly Tenneco Automotive and originally Tennessee Gas Transmission Company) is an American automotive components original equipment manufacturer and an aftermarket ride control and emissions products manufacturer. It is a Fortune 50 ...

and

FMC Corporation FMC Corporation is an American chemical manufacturing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which originated as an insecticide producer in 1883 and later diversified into other industries. In 1941 at the beginning of US involvemen ...

in 1955, and the joint venture was named Petro-Tex Chemical Corporation, also known as PTC Corporation, until sold to Texas Olefins in 1984. and later Texas Olefins also changed its name to Texas Petrochemicals in 1984. Texas Petrochemicals was acquired by the private equity firm Sterling Group in 1996. In 2003, a collapse of the MTBE market forced Texas Petrochemicals (now employee owned via a LBO) into bankruptcy. The company emerged from bankruptcy under new ownership in 2004. The Port Neches, Texas, plant—also authorized by Rubber Reserve—opened in 1943 operated by Neches Butane Products Company. It was purchased by Texaco in 1980, and later it was purchased by

Huntsman Corporation Huntsman Corporation is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of chemical products for consumers and industrial customers. Huntsman manufactures assorted polyurethanes, performance products, and adhesives for customers like BMW, ...

in 1994, then purchased by Texas Petrochemicals in 2006. Texas Petrochemicals changed its name to TPC Group in 2010. TPC Group was taken private in 2012 by

First Reserve Corporation First Reserve Corporation is a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts and growth capital investments in the energy sector. First Reserve was founded in 1984 and is the oldest and largest private equity fund dedicated to investments ...

and SK Capital Partners, in a deal worth approximately $850 million, after a bidding war with

Innospec Innospec Inc., formerly known as Octel Corporation and Associated Octel Company, Ltd., is a specialty chemical company. It comprises three business units: Fuel Specialties, responsible for the development and supply of additives for fuels and wh ...

. The merger was approved by shareholders in December 2012. TPC sold its

Baytown, Texas Baytown is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Harris and Chambers counties. Located in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area, it lies on the northern side of the Galveston Bay complex near the outlets of t ...

propylene Propylene, also known as propene, is an unsaturated organic compound with the chemical formula CH3CH=CH2. It has one double bond, and is the second simplest member of the alkene class of hydrocarbons. It is a colorless gas with a faint petrole ...

derivatives facility to SI Group in 2016. Michael T. McDonnell was the CEO from 2011 to 2015. McDonnell is currently the head of

General Cable General Cable is an American multinational cable manufacturing company based in Highland Heights, Kentucky, with sales offices and manufacturing facilities in several countries. General Cable manufactures and distributes copper, aluminum, and o ...

. Edward J. Dineen is the current CEO, starting in 2016. Dineen was previously CEO at

Siluria Technologies Siluria Technologies, Inc. was a San Francisco-based research company founded in 2007. It attempted to develop a commercial method to convert natural gas into ethylene, gasoline or diesel fuel using chemical catalysts. The company received over $10 ...

, CEO at

LS9, Inc LS-9 Inc was a venture-funded company focused on producing diesel fuel from transgenic organisms. It launched in 2005, took in $81 million in investment, and in 2013 was sold to Renewable Energy Group for $40 million in cash and stock, and an addit ...

, and COO of

LyondellBasell LyondellBasell Industries N.V. is a multinational chemical company incorporated in the Netherlands with U.S. operations headquartered in Houston, Texas, and offices in London, UK. The company is the largest licensor of polyethylene and polypro ...

. Dineen is also on the board of the

American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) is an American trade association, founded in 1902 as the National Petroleum Association. It became the National Petroleum Refiners Association in 1961, the National Petrochemical & Refiners Ass ...

. On June 1, 2022, TPC Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Among reasons cited were the 2019 explosion at its facility in Port Neches, TX (which now only terminals chemicals instead of producing them), the COVID-19 pandemic, Winter Storm Uri in 2021, and higher prices for commodities and energy.

Locations

* Corporate headquarters – Houston * Houston,TX operations, headquarters * Baytown, TX operations (former, sold in 2016) * Port Neches, TX (terminals, former operating plant) * Lake Charles, Louisiana (terminals)

Port Neches explosions

A processing unit at TPC's Port Neches

manufacturing plant exploded in a series of explosions on Wednesday, November 27, 2019, the eve of

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden a ...

, and a fire raged at the facility. 60,000 residents were evacuated within four miles of the facility, including parts of Port Neches, Nederland, Groves, and Port Arthur, Texas. The mandatory evacuation was lifted on Friday morning. Four workers were injured, none seriously. Local residents reported respiratory, eye and throat pain caused by the acrid smoke from the fire at the Port Neches facility.Public Citizen News, 18 Dec. 2019
Groups Score Victory in Fight Against Industrial Polluter
/ref> In 2018, the Port Neches facility released the second-highest illegal amount of cancer-causing

in Texas. The November 27 explosions were part of a series of major explosions in 2019 in Texas's petrochemical corridor. Environmental advocacy organizations helped organize residents to demand more consequential action from the

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is the environmental agency for the state of Texas. The commission's headquarters are located at 12100 Park 35 Circle in Austin. The fourth largest environmental agency in the United States (an ...

(TCEQ) than what they described as the typical inadequate fines imposed by the TCEQ for violations by the petrochemical industry. In response to the detailed testimony by residents concerning the November 27 explosions and fire, the TCEQ referred the matter for criminal prosecution.

References

External links