Oxy Vinyls La Porte VCM Plant
Large load · 2400 MILLER CUT-OFF ROAD, La Porte, TX
Oxy Vinyls, LP operates the La Porte Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) Plant at 2400 Miller Cut Off Road in La Porte, Harris County, Texas. The plant makes vinyl chloride monomer, the chemical precursor to polyvinyl chloride, by combining ethylene with chlorine and hydrogen chloride in a set of four connected process areas. OxyChemical runs it as one of several petrochemical plants in the region, and the Occidental Petroleum Company owns it. The site operates under federal operating permit O1324 issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the agency prepared a minor-revision statement of basis for it on May 20, 2026. EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program facility record lists the site under the name OXY VINYLS LP - LA PORTE VCM PLANT in Harris County.
Overview
The La Porte Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) Plant is comprised of four main areas: the OXY area, the Catoxid area, the EDC Manufacturing & Purification area and the VCM Manufacturing & Purification area. The OXY area produces ethylene dichloride (EDC) from ethylene, hydrogen chloride and oxygen in a fluidized catalyst bed reactor. The Catoxid area converts by-product streams from the EDC area into hydrogen chloride, which goes back to the OXY area, and the heat from that reaction makes steam for column bottoms. In the EDC area, the LTC reactor combines ethylene vapor with liquid chlorine using ferric chloride as a catalyst, and the product passes through a water and caustic wash and a series of distillation columns. The VCM area includes a Cracking Area that converts pure liquid EDC into VCM and hydrogen chloride, a VCM Purification Area, and a Tank Farm that holds VCM for transfer by tank car, pipeline or back to the plant. All process and tank vents go to two incinerator and scrubber systems, followed by a wastewater treatment system.
Profile
- 2026 minor permit revision
- The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality prepared a statement of basis on May 20, 2026 for a minor revision to federal operating permit O1324 for the La Porte VCM plant. The applicant filed under 30 TAC sections 122.215 through 122.217. The revision updated the applicable requirements for engine E-3 because that engine was replaced, removed engine E-6 and added engine E-7. Special Term and Condition 23 was updated to reference a new PBR Supplemental Table. The statement of basis names the site Oxy Vinyls, LP, lists the physical location as 2400 Miller Cut Off Rd in Harris County, and identifies the project type as a minor revision.
- Permit terms
- The federal operating permit for the site, O1324, shows an issuance date of May 29, 2025 on the TCEQ permit document, whose page footers are marked Revised- Effective 07/2026. The permit states that it expires five years from the date of issuance. The renewal requirements in 30 TAC section 122.241 must be satisfied to renew the authorization to operate the site and its emission units. The permit does not relieve the holder of the responsibility for obtaining New Source Review authorization. Each emission unit is listed with its applicable requirements, and the 2026 revision changed the requirements for engines E-3, E-6 and E-7.
Facility
- Activity
- Vinyl chloride monomer
- Industry
- Manufacturing
- Site type
- Facility
- Operating status
- Operating
Related records
Timeline
- May 29, 2025
- Issuance date shown on TCEQ federal operating permit O1324
www.tceq.texas.gov
- May 20, 2026
- TCEQ statement of basis prepared for a minor revision: engine E-3 replaced, E-6 removed, E-7 added
www.tceq.texas.gov