Borouge's Abu Dhabi polyolefins expansion fully onstream mid-2014

07 February 2012 16:48  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--Borouge expects an expansion of its polyolefins complex in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, to be fully onstream in mid-2014, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

The project, named Borouge 3, “is expanding the plant by 2.5m tonnes/year to a total annual capacity of 4.5m tonnes by the end of 2013 and will be fully operational mid-2014,” he said.

The expansion “is in the EPC [engineering, procurement and construction] stage and on track as planned”, the spokesman added. He declined to reveal start-up dates for individual units.

Asked about possible future investments beyond Borouge 3, he said no announcements were planned in the short-term. “At this stage we are focusing on the Borouge 3 expansion, which involves a significant [2.5 times] increase of our operations,” he stated.

Borouge is a joint-venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Borealis.

Austria-based Borealis has previously expressed an interest in additional investments in Abu Dhabi beyond Borouge 3.

Borouge 3 includes construction of a third ethane cracker, two Borstar polyethylene (PE) plants, two Borstar polypropylene (PP) plants and a low density polyethylene (LDPE) unit. Engineering firm Bechtel is providing management support for the project’s implementation.

German engineering company Linde is building the 1.5m tonne/year cracker for a contract value of $1.01bn (€761m).

A consortium of Samsung and Tecnimont will build the Borstar PE units, with a combined 1.08m tonne/year capacity, the Borstar PP units, with a combined 960,000 tonne/year capacity, and the 350,000 tonne/year LDPE unit.

The contract for the Borstar PE and PP units is valued at $1.26bn, while the contract for the LDPE unit, which will use Borealis technology for high value wire and cable applications, is valued at $400m.

The project also includes an 80,000 tonne/year cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) plant, which Borouge said will be a value-added complement to the LDPE unit. Last year Hyundai Engineering and Construction won a $169m contract to build the XLPE unit.

($1 = €0.76)

By: Anna Jagger
+44 20 8652 3214

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