Basell partners confirm key role of S'pore SM/PO project

11 January 2000 05:55  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (CNI)--BASF and Shell Eastern Petroleum broke ground here Tuesday for their Basell Eastern joint venture styrene monomer/propylene oxide (SM/PO) plant, and confirmed the project's strategic value to their growing petrochemicals presence in Asia Pacific.

Basell Eastern, the majors' 50:50 joint venture, is investing more than $500m (Euro485bn) in the plant, which it expects to bring onstream in H2 2002, producing 550 000 tonne/year SM and 250 000 tonne/year PO.

Speaking at the ceremony, Shell's vice president for SM/PO and urethanes, Rob van Loon, said: "We have established our markets here, and as Asia emerges from its economic crisis, the petrochemicals industry in the region is gearing for long-term growth. We believe this investment will enable us to meet future demand."

Shell will use its share of PO output for conversion into polyols and propylene glycol. The company will expand its polyols capability by adding a second worldscale plant with a capacity of 110 000 tonne/year. It has an 85 000 tonne/year unit on Jurong Island.

Last year, Shell took over the stake of its partner, Mitsubishi Chemical Corp (MCC), in their Seraya Chemicals Singapore Pte Ltd joint venture, which owns and operates a 315 000 tonne/year SM and 140 000 tonne/year PO plant here.

(MCC has acquired capacity rights for up to 380 000 tonne/year of SM from both the existing and upcoming SM/PO plants under long-term offtake agreements with Shell.)

For BASF, the Basell plant will be the nucleus of its polyurethane business in Asia Pacific, according to Volker Trautz, member of the board of BASF AG, Germany.

BASF will convert PO from the facility into polyols for the region, using Shell's Singapore polyols capacity. The company currently converts PO into polyols in Ulsan, South Korea, where it acquired a production facility in 1998 from Dongsung.

The Shell/BASF Basell joint venture already operates an SM/PO complex in Moerdijk, the Netherlands, which started up last year with capacities of 550 000 tonne/year SM and 250 000 tonne/year PO.

Also in Moerdijk, Shell Nederland BV has since 1979 been operating a wholly-owned SM/PO plant with a capacity of 440 000 tonne/year of SM and 200 000 tonne/year of PO.

By: Stefan Baumgarten
+1 713 525 2653

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