Borouge, the leading provider of innovative plastic solutions, has awarded the contract to build its new ethylene cracker to Linde Engineering.
The cracker will have a capacity of approximately 1.5 million tons per year and is considered to be the largest gas cracker in the world.
The value of the contract is approximately $1.3 billion and is awarded on a lump sum EPC turn key basis.
Work is scheduled for completion in 41 months.
This award is the first step in Borouge 2, the major expansion project being undertaken by Borouge, which will triple production capacity.
Borouge 2 is a key part of Borouge’s strategy for growth, tripling its production capacity and consolidating its position in markets throughout the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Africa.
It is expected to come onstream by 2010.
In addition to the ethylene cracker, the Borouge 2 project comprises the world’s biggest olefins conversion unit, producing 752 kilotonnes per year and two Borstar(r) polypropylene plants with a combined annual capacity of 800 Kt along with a new Borstar Enhanced PE plant that will have an annual capacity of 540 Kt to complement the existing 600 Kt unit.
The project will also include a general Utilities and Offsite package. The award of the above three remaining packages is expected during first and second quarter 2007.
The new expansion will be located next to Borouge’s existing petrochemical complex in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
Borouge is a leading provider of innovative plastics solutions. With a heritage of dependable customer partnership and value creation through innovation, Borouge is a unique company that brings together the very best of Europe and the Middle East.
Established in 1998 as a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Borealis, a pre-eminent European plastics provider, Borouge is a groundbreaking international partnership delivering innovative plastics solutions to customers throughout the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Africa.
Together, Borouge and Borealis employ unique Borstar(r) technology to produce differentiated products for high-value infrastructure applications, including water, gas and industrial pipe systems, power and communication cables, advanced packaging and automotive components. Borouge’s state-of-the-art petrochemical complex is located at Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
Borstar technology is a critical element in developing the next generation of innovative, creative plastics. Borstar is Borealis’ proprietary technology that supports differentiated PE and PP products. It enables production of tailored plastic grades that reduce costs through efficient processability. Other benefits include short start-up times, quick transitions between grades and the capacity to produce a whole range of product mix in one cycle.
Borouge’s cracker and Borstar PE units consistently achieve first-time-right products with minimal downtime.
Now, Borstar PE 2G, Borealis’ next generation technology, represents a leap forward in polymer design - from bi-modal PE to multi-modal PE-facilitating the development of an ever-widening range of new plastics which outperform alternative materials in meeting the needs of manufacturers and end users.
By enabling a tailored molecular structure of PE to precisely match the application requirements, Borstar PE 2G extends the product range with more sophisticated, customer-oriented solutions characterised by an outstanding combination of mechanical properties and excellent processability.
