The licensing package is the first major award on the proposed scheme, which entails the construction of an 850,000-tonne-a-year (t/y) ethane cracker, a 600,000-t/y ethylene glycol/ ethylene oxide unit and 400,000 t/y of polyethylene capacity.

Dow is expected to license the plant's glycol/ethylene oxide and polyethylene units through its wholly-owned subsidiary Union Carbide, which provided the original technology for Equate.

The next step in the project's implementation will involve the award of a project management consultancy (PMC) contract. Two US-based companies - Fluor Danieland Foster Wheeler- are frontrunners for the contract, which is expected to be awarded by the end of April (MEED 9:4:04).