Expansions: Técnicas/Sinopec jv to build ethane cracker for PE complex in Kazakhstan; Maire to license tech maleic anhydride project in Oman

A consortium led by KazMunayGas, Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas company, has awarded the development of a steam cracker to a joint venture formed by the Chinese group Sinopec and Spanish engineering company Técnicas Reunidas. The Sinopec group will provide financial support for its execution.

The award of this contract is included within the framework of the strategic agreement subscribed by Sinopec and Técnicas Reunidas last September. The first result of that agreement was the award of two large gas fractionation facilities in Riyas (Saudi Arabia) last January.

The investment required for the development of the unit will amount to around EUR2.3 billion, of which 50% will correspond to each of the joint venture partners.

According to present estimation, the works will last until the end of 2028. US company Lummus Technologies, which recently announced its participation in the project has been selected by Sinopec and Técnicas Reunidas as the technology licensor.

The unit, a steam cracker, which is the heart of any petrochemical complex, will be installed in the one that the consortium led by KazMunayGas is developing in the province of Atirau, in the western part of the country, on the Caspian Sea coast.

The unit will use the gas from Kazakhstan’s fields to generate petrochemicals. It will contribute to the production of some 1,300 kilotonnes/year of ethylene.

In other news, Italian tech firm Maire announces that Nextchem (Sustainable Technology Solutions), through its subsidiary Conser, its technology licensor for high-value chemical derivatives and biodegradable plastics, has been awarded by Al Baleed Petrochemical Company (ABP) the technology licensing, the process design package and catalyst supply for a maleic anhydride plant to be located in the Salalah Free Zone, in Oman.

The plant is part of a chemical park that ABP is developing for the value chain of LPG, methanol and ammonia and will have a capacity of 50,000 tonnes/year of maleic anhydride, an intermediate used for the production of biodegradable plastics.

The scope of work entails licensing and the process design package for Conser’s proprietary maleic anhydride technology, as well as the technical assistance during project execution, up to commissioning and start-up. Additionally, Conser will supply the related catalyst.

This project represents an important step in positioning Oman as a key player in the biodegradable plastics market, leveraging on Salalah Free Zone logistics hub for the petrochemical and natural materials processing sectors.

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