Petrochemicals: SABIC upgrades Netherlands cracker

21 May 2012 00:00  [Source: ICB]

 SABIC is investing €135m ($175m) over the next 18 months to upgrade its Olefins 4 cracker at Geleen in the Netherlands, the Saudi Arabian petrochemical major confirmed.

SABIC SABIC kicks off Olefins 4 upgrade project

In addition to the upgrade, the investment will be used to fund more than 20 additional improvement projects at Geleen as well as a substantial maintenance shutdown scheduled for September 2013.

RAISE COMPETITIVENESS

SABIC said that the cracker, which was built in the 1970s, will be modernized according to the latest technologies so that it can continue to compete with younger plants.

The aims of the project, which was officially launched on April 11, are to increase the cracker's capacity by 2% and reduce energy consumption by 8%.

"The goal of the investment is to ensure a safer, more competitive and more energy-efficient cracker that is better for the environment," SABIC said.

According to ICIS data, the cracker has a nameplate capacity of 675,000 tonnes/year of ethylene.

Deliveries to customers will not be affected while the work is carried out, the company said. It added that new temporary employment o pportunities of a few hundred 'man years' will be created as a result of the investment.

JACOBS WINS CONTRACT

Last month, California, US-based firm Jacobs Engineering said it had been awarded a contract to work on the upgrade.

The company will provide engineering, procurement and management services from its office in Meerssen, the Netherlands, which is close to SABIC's site.

The upgrade and improvement projects will be finalized during the maintenance turnaround in September 2013.

By: Graeme Paterson
+44 20 8652 3214

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