INEOS has secured EUR3.5bn in financing for its Antwerp, Belgium, cracker project, set to have the lowest CO2 output of any unit in the continent, the European chemicals major said.
The plant, expected onstream in 2026, has the capacity to operate entirely on low-carbon hydrogen, with scope for the addition of a carbon capture facility and electric furnaces in future, according to INEOS. The estimated budget for the project, which INEOS made a final investment decision (FID) on last year, currently stands at EUR4.0bn, according to the company.
The financing includes debt from 21 commercial banks. EUR1.5bn of the debt is uncovered, while EUR1.2bn is being provided by export credit agencies UKEF, Cesce and SACE, and an EUR800m tranche has up to EUR500m of the capital guaranteed by Gigarant, a vehicle of the Flemish government.
INEOS has already issued numerous contracts for work on the site, including to WOOD & Co, Technip, and Tecnicas Reunidas. The first new cracker to be built in Europe in decades, the unit will have a carbon footprint more than three times lower than the average European facility, and less than half of the top 10% lowest-emitting steam crackers in the region, according to INEOS.
“[The cracker] will bring new opportunities to the chemical cluster in Antwerp as well as strengthen the resilience of the whole of the European chemical sector,” said Jason Meers, CFO of INEOS Project ONE, the vehicle for the development of the unit. Banks on the financing include ABN Amro, Barclays, Belfius, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, KBC. BNP Paribas and Linklaters advised INEOS on the deal.
We remind, INEOS Inovyn and Statkraft have today renewed their long-standing partnership in Norway by signing two new long-term power agreements to supply renewable energy for INEOS Inovyn’s Rafnes and Porsgrunn sites, said the company. The first agreement effectively replaces the site’s existing power contract, which will expire in May 2023. It covers a capacity of 100 MW for an annual renewable energy production of 876 GWh each year. The second agreement will come into effect in 2026: it will cover an additional 30MW (263 GWh per year) and will support INEOS Inovyn’s extensive development plan in process electrification and hydrogen production at Rafnes.
mrchub.com