Petro Rabigh sets 1.3 mln tpa ethane cracker underway

10-Apr-09

Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh) has set its Ethane Cracker Unit underway which is one of the core facilities of its mega Refining and Petrochemical Complex newly constructed at Rabigh (Saudi Arabia). The 1.3 mln tpa capacity cracker will supply ethylene to the petrochemical derivative plants to manufacture polyethylene as well as mono-ethylene Glycol (MEG). The Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU) and Vacuum Gasoil Hydrotreater (VGOHDT) have also been put in operation to prepare for the startup of the new High Olefin Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit (HOFCC). The HOFCC will crack the hydro-treated VGO at a capacity of 92,000 bpd to produce 900,000 tpa of Propylene and 59,000 bpd of Gasoline. The HOFCC will supply propylene to the petrochemical derivative units to manufacture polypropylene as well as propylene oxide, which will be produced for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Petro Rabigh is jointly owned by Japan's Sumitomo Chemical (37.5%), S. Arabia's Saudi Aramco (37.5%) and the remaining by public investors.