MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed of a strategic partnership with Borealis AG that confirms a USD6.2 B (AED22 B) investment agreement between the companies to build the fourth Borouge facility - Borouge 4 - at the polyolefin manufacturing complex in Ruwais, United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will produce 1.4 MM tons of polyethylene (PE) per year, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.
Expansion project includes construction of a 1.5 MM tons ethane cracker, two state-of-the-art Borstar PE plants and a cross-linked PE plant. Borouge 4 will meet growing customer demand across the Middle East, Africa and Asia with differentiated polyolefin solutions in energy, infrastructure, and advanced packaging.
The new facility will benefit from industry-leading technologies to significantly improve energy efficiency and lower emissions, with carbon capture study underway. Upon expansion, Borouge will be the world's largest single-site polyolefin complex.
The world-scale expansion confirms both partners’ commitment to the growth of Borouge and to support chemical production and advanced manufacturing and industry in Ruwais, a key pillar of Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s technology, innovation and industrial development strategy. Borouge produces crucial industrial raw materials which are exported to customers globally and used by local companies, boosting local industrial supply chains and enhancing InCountry Value.
Borouge 4 will capitalize on the projected growth in customer demand for polyolefins, driven by their use in manufactured products in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The facility will also enable the next phase of growth at the Ruwais Industrial Complex by supplying feedstock to the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone.
The final investment agreement was signed at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) by His Excellence His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO and Borealis CEO, Thomas Gangl.
HE Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, said: “ADNOC and Borealis’ significant investment in the fourth expansion of Borouge ensures the long-term and sustainable supply of core materials to critical sectors vital to both the UAE and global economy. This expansion will see Borouge become the world’s largest single-site polyolefin complex, as it continues to play an integral role in the development of TA’ZIZ, enhancing local industrial supply chains and boosting InCountry Value opportunities."
Scheduled to be operational by the end of 2025, ADNOC will supply Borouge 4 feedstock.
Borouge 4 will have an industry-leading focus on sustainability leveraging the capabilities of both shareholders. The facility will utilize Borealis’ proprietary Borstar technology, to produce a product portfolio focused on durable applications for energy, infrastructure, advanced packaging, and agriculture sectors. This unique technology, in combination with hexene comonomer, will enable the production of advanced packaging grades with up to 50% recycled PE content.
Subject to an in-depth study, a Carbon Capture unit that would reduce CO2 emissions by 80% could also be operational in time for Borouge 4’s start-up. The facility is also designed to capitalize on ADNOC’s recent initiatives on clean energy, decarbonizing its power supply through access to Abu Dhabi’s clean power sources. These initiatives are aligned with the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative.
The first Borouge facility, producing 450,000 tons of PE per annum was commissioned in 2001. Borouge 2 and Borouge 3 took capacity to 2 million tons and 4.5 million tons of PE and polypropylene (PP) per year in 2010 and 2014 respectively. Borouge 4 will boost the company's annual polyolefin production to 6.4 MM tons, making Borouge the world's largest single-site polyolefin facility.
As MRC wrote before, the Borealis cracker in Stenungsund, Sweden, has carried out its first test run of a feedstock derived solely from vegetable-based waste streams. The test, which was carried out throughout the month of September, should have determined the extent to which this renewably-sourced feedstock can serve as a replacement for fossil fuel-based feedstocks. Renewable feedstocks form the foundation of , the Borealis portfolio of premium circular polyolefins. Being able to offer a viable alternative to conventional feedstocks will not only reduce the Stenungsund plant’s overall CO2 footprint, but also help Borealis customers maintain high product quality while meeting their own sustainability goals.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries. In 2020, Borealis generated EUR 6.8 billion in sales revenue and a net profit of EUR 589 million. OMV, the Austria-based international oil and gas company, owns 75% of Borealis, while the remaining 25% is owned by a holding company of the Abu-Dhabi based Mubadala.
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