ExxonMobil Chem projects in Fujian, Singapore on track

07 May 2009 10:22  [Source: ICIS news]

SHANGHAI (ICIS news)--US major ExxonMobil Chemical is proceeding as planned with its multi-billion dollar petrochemical complexes in Fujian, China and Singapore despite the current adverse economic climate, the company president told ICIS news on Thursday.

“Our large projects are on schedule and we haven’t cancelled or deferred anything. Singapore is on schedule, Fujian is on schedule,” said Steve Pryor, who was in Shanghai to officiate the ground-breaking ceremony of ExxonMobil’s technology center on Friday.

The company has a major petrochemical project in Singapore that was estimated to cost about $4bn (€3bn) to build and scheduled for completion in 2011.

The complex will house a 1m tonne/year ethylene steam cracker, two 650,000 tonne/year polyethylene (PE) units, a 450,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) unit.

It will also have a 300,000 tonne/year specialty elastomers unit, an aromatics extraction unit to produce 340,000 tonnes/year of benzene and an oxo-alcohol expansion of 125,000 tonnes/year.

In China’s eastern province of Fujian, ExxonMobil is on track for the phased start-up of its petrochemical complex in the second half of the year, said Pryor.

The Yuan (CNY)35.8bn ($5.2bn) would have an 800,000 tonne/year naphtha cracker, an 800,000 tonne/year polyethylene (PE) unit, a 400,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) unit.

The facility would also house an aromatics complex that can produce 700,000 tonne/year of paraxylene (PX).

ExxonMobil has a 25% interest in the Fujian facility while partners Sinopec Fujian Petrochemical and Saudi Aramco own 50% and 25% of the project, respectively.

ExxonMobil was also eyeing the Middle East market.

“On the Middle East ventures, we are in development studies with our partners. We have not announced any schedule on those but they move forward,” said Pryor.

($1 = €0.75 / $1 = CNY6.82)

Bohan Loh and Dolly Wu contributed to this article

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By: Alfred Wong
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