Map: Middle East cracker projects

Several major olefins projects are scheduled to start up in the region over the next few years

KUWAIT
AL-ZOUR
Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co. (PIC) and EQUATE plan to build a 1.4m tonne/year joint-venture cracker project based on ethane and naphtha. The Olefins III project, which is expected to include plants for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), would be located at Al Zour, alongside a fourth refinery being planned by Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC). Start-up is not expected until after 2015. PIC is a wholly owned subsidiary of KPC, while EQUATE is a JV of PIC, Dow Chemical and Kuwaiti investors.

SAUDI ARABIA
AL-JUBAIL
Arabian Chevron Phillips Petrochemical and the Saudi Industrial Investment Group are building a 1.2m tonne/year joint-venture cracker project in Al-Jubail. The project is being implemented by Saudi Polymers, 35% of which is owned by ACP and 65% by SIIG affiliate National Petrochemical (Petrochem). The project is expected to be completed in late 2011 and will include downstream units for PE, PP, polystyrene (PS) and 1-hexene.

SAUDI ARABIA
AL-JUBAIL
Saudi Kayan, a joint venture between SABIC and Al-Kayan Petrochemical, has begun starting up units at its massive 5m tonne/year complex in Al-Jubail. The complex will have the capacity to produce 1.48m tonnes/year of ethylene and 700,000 tonnes/year of PE, as well as benzene, phenol, ethylene glycol (EG), PP, ethoxylates, choline chloride and dimethyl formamide (DMF). SABIC has revealed plans to add 300,000 tonnes/year of high density polyethylene (HDPE) capacity at the Saudi Kayan complex.

SAUDI ARABIA
AL-JUBAIL
Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical are planning to build a major petrochemicals joint-venture project in Al-Jubail. The companies are reconfiguring the project after relocating it to Al-Jubail from Ras Tanura, in an effort to reduce costs. The project is in the final stages of the front-end engineering design study, and Dow and Aramco will move to the final ­approval stage for the project in July, Dow CEO Andrew Liveris said. Further details of the project have not been disclosed.

SAUDI ARABIA
RABIGH
Saudi Arabia’s Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical (Petro Rabigh) expects to bring its phase-II expansion project on stream by 2015. The company, a joint venture between state-owned Saudi Aramco and Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical, started up its refinery and petrochemicals complex in Rabigh last year, and now plans to debottleneck the existing 1.3m tonne/year ethane cracker and further widen the product slate. The expansion would increase ethylene capacity by 300,000 tonnes/year.

IRAN
BUSHEHR
Kavian Petrochemical, a subsidiary of Bakhtar Petrochemical, is planning a project in Bushehr. Phase one of the Olefins 11 project, with a 1m tonne/year capacity, was expected to start up in 2012, but market sources suggest there could be delays. Phase two, adding another 1m tonnes/year, is expected to start up in 2013.

QATAR
RAS LAFFAN
Ras Laffan Olefins Co, a joint venture of Qatofin and Q-Chem II, is considering expanding its 1.3m tonne/year cracker at Ras Laffan to 1.45m-1.60m tonnes/year. Qatofin is a joint venture of Qatar Petrochemical Co. (63%), Total Petrochemicals (36%) and Qatar Petroleum (QP) (1%), while Q-Chem II is a joint venture between QP (51%) and Chevron Phillips Chemical (49%).

QATAR
RAS LAFFAN
Qatar Petroleum is seeking partners for one or more cracker projects. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with Shell in December last year, for the joint development of a mixed-feed cracker and petrochemicals complex at Ras Laffan. Shell said the project would include a monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant with a capacity of up to 1.5m tonnes/year. Total Petrochemicals has also been in talks with Qatar Petroleum about a project in Ras Laffan, but is yet to sign an agreement.

QATAR
MESAIEED
Qatar Petrochemical Co, a joint venture between Industries Qatar and Total Petrochemicals, plans to expand its 720,000 tonne/year cracker in Mesaieed to 900,000 tonnes/year by the first quarter of 2014. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) capacity at the site would also be raised from 450,000 to 600,000 tonnes/year. The LLDPE plant is operated by Qatofin, a JV ­between Total Petrochemicals and Qatar Petroleum.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
AL-GHARBIA, ABU DHABI
Abu Dhabi National Chemicals (ChemaWEyaat) has delayed its olefins and aromatics project, which centers on a 1.5m tonne/year naphtha cracker. Start-up is not expected until after 2015. ChemaWEyaat – owned by Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co, Abu Dhabi Investment Council and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (Adnoc) – is expected to locate the project in Al-Gharbia, close to Adnoc’s Ruwais complex.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
RUWAIS
Borouge, a joint venture between Adnoc and Borealis, intends to expand its petrochemicals output by 2.5m tonnes/year to 4.5m tonnes/year by mid-2014. The project, named Borouge 3, includes construction of a third ethane cracker, with a 1.5m tonne/year capacity. Borouge brought its second cracker on stream last year, raising ethylene capacity by 1.5m tonnes/year to 2.1m tonnes/year.