Borouge set to expand
Posted: 15 December 2003
Borouge to expand existing Borstar capacity and studying
further expansion to form a world scale petrochemical complex at
Ruwais, Abu Dhabi in the UAE
Building on the successful start up and first two years of operation,
increasing market demand for enhanced polyolefins and more feedstock
becoming available, the next steps are underway to expand the Borouge
petrochemical complex.
Borouge will invest USD 40 million to debottleneck the existing
Borstar enhanced polyethylene (PE) capacity from 450,000 to 580,000
tonnes per annum. The project, which includes expansion of material
handling facilities, is to be completed by Q2 2005. In addition,
Borouge will assume full off take of the existing 600,000 tonnes
per annum ethylene cracker.
To further develop Borouge, its owners, ADNOC and BOREALIS, earlier
this year signed a Memorandum of Understanding and are proceeding
with a feasibility study for a new world scale cracker and downstream
polyolefin plants.
The feasibility study to expand the Ruwais petrochemical complex
is linked to market growth and increased gas production in the region
from two ADNOC natural gas developments (OGD-3 and AGD-2) in Abu
Dhabi.
Significant amounts of ethane equivalent to approximately 1.4 million
tonnes ethylene will become available for petrochemical use. The
ongoing study is investigating technical and commercial aspects
and considering the various options.
Conclusions are likely to be reached during 2004 with expected
start-up of the new plants in 2008.
“We have successfully positioned our products in the targeted
markets and applications. Our customers are extremely satisfied
with the superior quality of our enhanced PE products using Borealis’
bimodal Borstar technology,” says Hubert Puchner, Chief Executive
Officer of Borouge Pte Ltd.
“We are looking forward to offering more of these valuable
products to the market. The demand for polyolefins in the Middle
East and Asia is expected to grow annually between 6 per cent and
8 per cent until the year 2010 and will absorb the announced capacity
expansions”.
“The petrochemical industry never stands still,” Harri
Bucht, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Polymers Co. Ltd (Borouge)
comments. ”Borouge has performed beyond expectations to date
with the polyethylene plants already exceeding their nameplate capacity.
By expanding our olefins and polyolefins production, we will achieve
greater cost efficiency and sharpen our competitive edge. The planned
expansions are a major step in developing Borouge into a leading
polyolefins company in the Middle East based on a world scale petrochemical
complex.”
The expansion plans represent a further strengthening of the partnership
between ADNOC and BOREALIS. The partners bring complimentary strengths
to the Borouge joint venture with ADNOC providing resources and
expertise in the feedstock area along with local market knowledge
and relationships. Building on a strong platform in the oil and
gas industry, these announcements further demonstrate ADNOCs continued
focus on downstream petrochemical activities in Abu Dhabi and commitment
to polyolefins.
BOREALIS provides olefins and polyolefins technology coupled with
commercial and operational expertise. Borealis and Borouge adopt
complementary differentiation strategies with a common focus on
enhanced/ high performance polyolefins based on Borstar technology.
Borouge
Borouge’s petrochemical complex began operations in late 2001
and was officially opened in October 2002. It produces enhanced
polyethylene products using Borealis’ proprietary BORSTAR®
technology to meet the demanding needs of the packaging and pipe
industries in the Middle East and Asia Pacific.
Borouge is the result of a synergistic joint venture between two
well-established corporations – Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
(ADNOC) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Borealis A/S of Denmark.
Borouge consists of two entities: A production company Abu Dhabi
Polymers Co. Ltd. (Borouge) based in Abu Dhabi with production in
Ruwais, UAE, and a marketing company, Borouge Pte. Ltd. based in
Singapore. Borouge has full-fledged sales offices in Abu Dhabi,
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai and Lebanon.
ADNOC
ADNOC, one of the world’s leading oil companies, is government-owned
and guided by the Supreme Petroleum Council, which is responsible
for formulating Abu Dhabi’s petroleum policy and overseeing
its oil and gas operations and related industries. In addition to
oil and gas ventures, ADNOC has also expanded its business to include
petrochemicals.
BOREALIS
BOREALIS is a leading producer of high-performance polyolefin plastics,
polyethylene and polypropylene, with an annual output of more than
3.5 million tonnes. The company’s head office is in Denmark
and the Group has manufacturing and compounding facilities in Europe,
Brazil and the USA.
Borstar is a registered trademark of Borealis A/S, Denmark.
For more information see www.borouge.com.
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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