CB&I on Friday was awarded a contract by Enterprise Products for the license and basic engineering of the company’s planned propane dehydrogenation unit on the Texas Gulf coast.

The unit will use the CATOFIN propane dehydrogenation process from Lummus Technology that employs Süd-Chemie’s latest CATOFIN catalyst.

The project will produce 1.65 billion lb/year (approximately 750,000 tpy) of polymer-grade propylene (PGP).

“This project is an example of the rebirth of the US petrochemical industry due to the abundance of propane feedstock attributed to the growth in natural gas liquids as a result of shale gas production,” said Philip K. Asherman, CEO of CB&I.

“We are pleased to be able to provide this cost-effective and reliable route to on-purpose propylene to meet the current worldwide shortage.”