Borealis Mulls New PP Plant, Steam Cracker At Borouge

Borealis mulls new PP plant, steam cracker at Borouge

02-Mar-17

Austrian chemical company Borealis is carrying out feasibility studies for a polypropylene (PP) unit and a mixed-feed steam cracker at Borouge, the petrochemicals complex it owns jointly with Abu Dhabi's state-owned Adnoc in Ruwais, UAE. The study for the new PP unit- known as PP5, is in its latter stages, with a final investment decision expected later this year. The new plant would have a production capacity of around 600,000 tpa. Abu Dhabi refiner Takreer is building a new 500,000 tpa propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit at Ruwais that is planned to start up in the third quarter of this year. This will create a significant excess of propylene in the complex that would easily support a new PP plant, Borealis chief executive Mark Garrett said.

The design challenges of building a new PP unit at Ruwais are quite minimal, Garrett said, as Borealis can effectively copy the design of its four existing PP units at Borouge. Borealis is also evaluating the feasibility of building a mixed-feed steam cracker at Borouge, a project known as Borouge 4. With Borouge's existing cracker capacity ethane based, Garrett said mixed-feed cracking is a "new challenge" for the complex. The decision to evaluate mixed-feed cracking was taken because there is no longer enough price-advantaged ethane available in the Middle East to support a world-scale ethane cracker.

The feasibility study is focusing on guaranteeing the correct balance of naphtha and lighter feedstocks will be available, and evaluating possible downstream units to consume the heavier co-products, such as C4s, that result from cracking heavier feedstocks. While the Abu Dhabi petrochemical industry has a lot of experience in ethylene and propylene, it has no prior experience in C4 chemistry, Garrett said. "We do not have a decision what we would do with the C4s at this stage", he said. A definitive timeline is not yet in place because of the complexity of the project, although the study is expected to take 12-18 months to complete.

Source Courtesy: Argus Media