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The $1.4-billion expansion of a Phillips 66 natural gas liquids complex in Sweeny, Texas, was “the best example of teamwork I have seen in my 30-plus year career,” says John Parker, senior vice president of construction at S&B Engineers and Constructors, the project's design-builder.. 

The project finished two months ahead of schedule, $100 million under budget and quadrupled the complex’s capacity, making it one of the nation’s largest NGL processing hubs. 

Up against extreme weather events and the global COVID-19 pandemic, there were many times when the construction team needed to make quick decisions, Parker says. But “no one hesitated."

“The S&B team, Phillips 66, and, at times, our third-party contractors worked shoulder-to-shoulder  swiftly and decisively to move the project forward,” adds Parker. The team reached peak construction just as the COVID-19 pandemic was reaching another global peak, but working together to prevent jobsite outbreaks elevated camaraderie.

“We were in it together, supporting each other along the way,” says Parker. And it paid off with the project logging 4 million worker hours and no recordable incidents. 

By applying lessons learned from a previous project on site, the S&B team helped save $300 million in capital investment avoidance and used their standard NGL fractionator design concept to minimize fuel usage and reduce emissions. 

When evaluated per barrel of feedstock processed, S&B says the SHP-2 facility is one of the most efficient, lowest greenhouse gas emitting facilities it has ever built.