Dubai Natural Gas Company (Dugas) is planning to expand its methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) plant capacity by 35 per cent and build new gas storage tanks at its Jebel Ali operations.

The company has awarded a contract to Netherlands-based Tebodin Consultants and Engineers for the detailed design of the MTBE expansion.

Tebodin also won contracts preparation of the front-end engineering and design (feed) and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) tender package for the additional butane storage facility.

The combined work, which will be carried out at Tebodin’s office in Dubai, involves about 42,000 man hours, according to the Dutch firm.

The project scope includes the expansion Dugas’s MTBE plant’s capacity to 675,000 tonnes a year (t/y) from the existing 500,000 t/y. This is in addition to the construction of additional butane and propane storage tanks and associated refrigeration system using vapour-recovery compression for re-liquefaction.

MTBE is an additive for unleaded gasoline that helps raise octane levels by supplying additional oxygen during combustion, allowing cleaner burning.