Plants: Total jv in South Korea increases ethylene capacity by 30%; Enterprise proceeds with PDH plant, for supply to LyondellBasell

The Daesan integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in South Korea, owned by Hanwha Total Petrochemical, a 50-50 joint venture between French firm Total and South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, has started its new ethylene production capacities. With a US$450 million investment, the site can now produce 1.4 million tonnes/year of ethylene, an increase of 30%.

This project was launched in April 2017 and is the first in a series of three at the complex. More than US$300 million os being invested to expand PE production capacity by 50% to 1.1 million tonnes/year by the end of 2019, and nearly US$500 million invested to increase PP production capacity by close to 60% to 1.1 million tonnes/year by 2021.

The three projects take advantage of abundant, cost-advantaged propane feedstock from the shale gas revolution in the US. With these investments, the Daesan facility will be in a position to capture margins across the ethylene-PE and propylene-PP value chains. The additional production capacity will help meet rapidly growing Asian demand. “These investments and today’s successful start-up of the first project reflect our strategy of meeting 

growing global demand for petrochemicals by channeling our investments into our world-class complexes and leveraging cost-advantaged feedstock,” said Bernard Pinatel, President, Refining & Chemicals, Total.

Daesan is one of Total's six world-class integrated complexes and a strategic asset for both shareholders. It comprises a flexible condensate splitter, a competitive steam cracker and units producing polymers, styrene and aromatics.

In other news, LyondellBasell Industries and US-based provider of midstream energy services Enterprise Products Partners have executed long-term contracts for the construction of Enterprise’s second propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant, with a capacity to consume up to 35,000 barrels per day (BPD) of propane and produce up to 750,000 tonnes/year of polymer grade propylene. PDH 2 will be located at Enterprise’s complex in the Mont Belvieu, Texas area. The facility is scheduled to begin service in the first half of 2023. LyondellBasell will be the anchor customer and the plant will use Honeywell’s UOP’s Oleflex technology.

“For nearly 30 years, Enterprise has proven to be a capable, reliable partner for LyondellBasell,” said Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell. “As we aim to meet the growing demand for our products, ensuring a long-term supply of feedstock is critical. These agreements allow us to leverage Enterprise’s construction expertise, operating experience and robust network as we continue to deliver an outstanding value proposition for our customers.”

Enterprise has licensed Honeywell UOP’s Oleflex propane process to produce PGP. Enterprise has over 25 years of experience with this technology. The company’s existing isobutane dehydrogenation (iBDH) plant, which uses the Oleflex butane process, commenced operations in 1993. The partnership is currently building a second iBDH facility utilizing the same process, which is expected to be completed later this year and is on time and on budget.

Enterprise has negotiated terms for a fixed-cost Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract with S&B Engineers and Constructors, to build PDH 2. S&B-led construction projects for Enterprise include nine natural gas liquid (NGL) fractionators and certain deisobutanisers at Mont Belvieu, the Hobbs NGL fractionator, and the partnership’s ethane export facility on the Houston Ship Channel.

Enterprise began its fee-based midstream petrochemical service business with the development of its first propylene fractionator in 1978. PDH 2 is being developed with this same fee-based model. These anchor contracts are service-based under which Enterprise processes LyondellBasell-provided propane to PGP for a fixed fee. This fee-based model leverages Enterprise’s integrated value chain by providing sourcing and storage from Enterprise’s NGL storage facilities in Mont Belvieu, and delivers PGP into its open market storage hub and growing network of PGP pipeline infrastructure. Enterprise’s network of PGP assets includes more than 300 miles of delivery pipelines, 26 PGP connections, more than five million barrels of storage capacity, and an export terminal on the Houston Ship Channel. Enterprise is currently expanding PGP refrigeration facilities at the terminal, which will enable the company to load more than 5,000 barrels per hour of PGP, as well as co-load PGP and LPG on very large gas carriers.

Enterprise’s Mont Belvieu NGL fractionation and storage system supporting PDH 2 currently has 760,000 BPD of NGL fractionation capacity, with another 300,000 BPD under construction. In addition, these complexes have more than 100 million barrels of NGL and petrochemical storage, providing unparalleled reliability and flexibility. The integration of the PDH 1 and PDH 2 plants with Enterprise’s propylene fractionation facilities provides operational flexibility for both processes, and a combined PGP supply of more than 4 million tonnes/year.

(PRA)

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