Indorama Ventures’ majority-owned Lake Charles, La., gas cracker has received an air permit from U.S authorities signifying an important step forward in maintaining the plant’s startup schedule that will produce ethylene from shale gas.

The air permit, which is the main environmental permit required by the company in order to proceed with refurbishment of the cracker, allows the project to commence the repair and construction activities at the site a month ahead of the original target date.

Ethylene from the cracker will feed the production of MEG (monoethylene glycol), which is used to make PET (polyethylene terephthalate). When complete, Indorama Ventures will become the most vertically integrated PET producer in North America.

Mechanical completion is expected in the third quarter of 2017 on schedule, followed by commissioning and startup in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The project received a water permit in June that allows the facility to discharge liquid effluent through its waste-water treatment plant.

The project has also completed de-bottlenecking-related engineering and has ordered all its major long-lead-time equipment.