Cairo set for olefins deal
A consortium of the local Oriental Petrochemicals Company, Singapore's Eurochem and Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company(Echem) are set to sign a memorandum of understanding in the near future on the development of a major petrochemicals scheme using leading-edge gas-to-olefins technology, according to a senior source in the industry.
Echem has completed in-house pre-feasibility studies for an estimated $1,700 million polyethylene plant which could be built using the technology.
Start-up of the 750,000-1 million tonne-a-year facility is planned for 2011.
Owned by the US' UOP, the technology would enable the conversion of methane to ethylene and propylene. These olefins can then be processed to form polyethylene and polypropylene. They are the two main polyolefins that together account for more than 50 per cent of the plastics consumed worldwide.
'Cairo is strongly considering the use of methanol-olefins technology,' says the source.
'Most of Egypt's naphtha is exported or used to make gasoline, so the only way theycan make olefins is by gascracking. The UOP technology is the only hope for a successful olefins industry.'
www. meed.com/petrochemicals
A consortium of the local Oriental Petrochemicals Company, Singapore's Eurochem and Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company(Echem) are set to sign a memorandum of understanding in the near future on the development of a major petrochemicals scheme using leading-edge gas-to-olefins technology, according to a senior source in the industry.
Echem has completed in-house pre-feasibility studies for an estimated $1,700 million polyethylene plant which could be built using the technology. Start-up of the 750,000-1 million tonne-a-year facility is planned for 2011. Owned by the US' UOP, the technology would enable the conversion of methane to ethylene and propylene. These olefins can then be processed to form polyethylene and polypropylene. They are the two main polyolefins that together account for more than 50 per cent of the plastics consumed worldwide. 'Cairo is strongly considering the use of methanol-olefins technology,' says the source. 'Most of Egypt's naphtha is exported or used to make gasoline, so the only way theycan make olefins is by gascracking. The UOP technology is the only hope for a successful olefins industry.' www. meed.com/petrochemicalsThis content is only available to full MEED package subscribers (MEED magazine and MEED.com).
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