ADNOC and Borealis enter into strategic partnership
Published by Bella Weetch,
Editorial Assistant
Hydrocarbon Engineering,
His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has witnessed the signing of a strategic partnership that confirms a US$6.2 billion investment agreement between ADNOC and Borealis AG (Borealis) to build the fourth Borouge facility – Borouge 4 – at the polyolefin manufacturing complex in Ruwais, UAE.
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 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 In-Country Value (ICV).
Borouge 4 will capitalise 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 Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, and Thomas Gangl, Borealis CEO.
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 utilise 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 co-monomer, will enable the production of advanced packaging grades with up to 50% recycled polyethylene 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 capitalise on ADNOC’s recent initiatives on clean energy, decarbonising 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 new Borouge 4 facility will comprise:
- An ethane cracker, with 1.5 million tpy ethylene output, which will be the fourth cracker in Borouge’s integrated petrochemical complex in Ruwais.
- Two additional Borstar® polyethylene plants, each with 700 000 tpy capacity, using Borealis Borstar third generation (3G) technology.
- A cross-linked polyethylene plant of 100 000 tpy capacity.
- A hexene-1 unit, which will produce co-monomers for certain grades of polyethylene.
Borouge’s value-add materials are used to manufacture a diverse range of products including industrial-grade pipes, cables, films and personal protective equipment.
The first Borouge facility, producing 450 000 tpy of polyethylene was commissioned in 2001. Borouge 2 and Borouge 3 took capacity to 2 million tpy and 4.5 million tpy of polyethylene and polypropylene in 2010 and 2014 respectively. Borouge 4 will boost the company’s annual polyolefin production to 6.4 million t, making Borouge one of the world’s largest single-site polyolefin facilities.
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/16112021/adnoc-and-borealis-enter-into-strategic-partnership/
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