Borouge signs revised contract for Abu Dhabi petrochemical complex
Petrochemicals company Borouge, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and European plastics giant
Borealis, has signed a $ 1.39 bn revised contract with Technicas Reunidas for the expansion of its Ruwais
petrochemical complex in Abu Dhabi.
The revised contract changed the terms of the deal from an open book estimate to a fixed lump sum turnkey contract
for the Borouge 2 expansion project. The utilities and offsite contract includes the supply by Tecnicas Reunidas of
the main auxiliary systems and interconnections for the expanded petrochemical complex. Tecnicas Reunidas is a global
engineering and construction company, focusing on oil and gas production, refining and petrochemicals and power
generation projects.
"Upon the completion of Borouge 2 in 2010, Borouge's production capacity will triple to over 2 mm tons of
polyolefins. This will enable Borouge to supply its customers with high performance and value added products for an
increasingly wide range of applications in all its target markets," Abdulaziz Alhajiri, Borouge Abu Dhabi Polymers
CEO said.
The expanded Ruwais plant when completed will be able to more than triple its production capacity to 2.5 mm tons by
mid-2010 from 650,000 tons. The plant will produce annually 1.4 mm tons of ethylene, 540,000 tons of polyethylene,
and 800,000 tons of polypropylene.
Previously, Borouge chief executive William Yau said Borouge is reviewing its Borouge 3 expansion programme which
aims to raise capacity to 4.5 mm tons.
"We are still in the feasibility stage and we hope to speed up the evaluation process," implying that new market
realities have to be incorporated in the final plan. "We are still very optimistic, our growth expectations are
high," said Yau, adding the company is pushing through with its expansion plans in the Middle East, and is eyeing
logistics hubs in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Currently, Borouge is constructing a regional logistics hub in Shanghai, China which will have an annual capacity of
600,000 tons. It is already constructing a 50,000-ton compounding plant also in Shanghai.
Another hub is being set up in the province of Guangzhou with a capacity of 300,000 tons.
