Amoco No. 2 Metaxylene (MX-2) Project

Amoco Chemical Company is the largest producer of metaxylene in the world. This was one of the first metaxylene units to utilize UOP's Sorbex™ process, which is generally used in association with paraxylene production.

Fluor's scope of work on this chemicals project was for front-end loading, engineering, procurement and construction of a 100,000-metric-tons-per-annum metaxylene unit. The project also included the associated offsites for flare and existing process unit tie-ins.

Client's Challenge

The project was awarded and begun in October 1995, with construction originally scheduled to start in October 1996. Due to market conditions for metaxylene, Amoco delayed the mechanical completion date for one year, from October 1997 to October 1998.

The unit was to be built on a brownfield site within Amoco's Texas City, Texas plan. However, the site had limited accessibility and lay down space available. The Amoco/Fluor management team used the time period from contract award until effective start of construction for extensive planning that optimized resources, reduced costs and maximized efficiencies.

Fluor's Solution

Fluor direct-hired and self-performed over 80 percent of the work, augmenting with subcontracts for selected specialty work. The project consisted of the installation of these materials, equipment and buildings:

5,200 cubic yards of concrete and 930 tons of structural steel
73,000 linear feet of pipe and 700,000 linear feet of electric cable
95 pieces of equipment and 1,580 instruments
Satellite control room and an electric substation building

Both Fluor and Amoco demonstrated an extremely strong commitment to safety, resulting in a total recordable incidents rate of 0.3, or one recordable over the course of the project.

Conclusion

The MX-2 Project received several awards, including the 1998 Excellence in Execution Award from Fluor's group presidents and, in a national competition sponsored by Associated Builders & Contractors, the Award of Merit for Excellence in Construction in the Large Mechanical/Industrial Project Category. The project also received the Tri-Star 500,000 Safety Workhour Award.