InterviewAkzo awards Ningbo EA plant contract

29 November 2007 13:06  [Source: ICIS news]

By Will Beacham

 

LONDON (ICIS news)--Akzo Nobel has awarded the engineering, procurement, construction and management contract for its Ningbo, China, ethylene amines (EA) project to Foster Wheeler, an executive at the Dutch company said on Thursday.

 

Christina Tenfalt, general manager for EA, told ICIS news that the US construction company had been chosen because of its experience in working in China as well as its ability to deliver projects to a high standard.

 

Tenfalt said the Ningbo EA project would have a similar capacity to its 80,000 tonne/year plant at Stenungsund, Sweden.

 

On completion Akzo Nobel will move from second to first place globally amongst six players with a capacity of around 180,000 tonnes/year.

 

The other producers are Dow, Huntsman, BASF and Japan’s Tosoh plus a joint venture between Akzo Nobel and Tosoh called Delamine.

 

Tenfalt said the project was still on budget. Plans for the €250m EA and chelating agents plant at a 50 ha (125 acre) site in Ningbo were announced in April this year.

  

But she would not comment on two other projects that are being considered at Ningbo for the manufacture of cellulosics and organic peroxides. Further options include paper chemicals, surfactants and solvent-based coatings.

 

Akzo Nobel is using its own proprietary technology for the project, said Tenfalt.

 

But, she added, the company has chosen technology from US company Scientific Design for the EO plant which will provide feedstocks to the EA facility.

 

This contract was awarded early in 2007.

 

One month ago, Akzo Nobel ordered the ethylene oxide reactor from Japanese engineers IHI. “This was an important step as there is a long lead time for this equipment,” said Tenfalt.

 

The whole project is on schedule for start-up in the first half of 2010 with groundbreaking expected to take place in mid-2008.

 

Tenfalt said there were no current plans for further expansion of EA capacity globally, but added: “Demand for EA is growing. It is a strategic product for Akzo Nobel so sooner or later we will take another step.”

 

She said demand was increasing by 10% or more per year in China, following the country’s rapid GDP growth.

 

($1 = €0.67)

By: Will Beacham
+44 20 8652 3214

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