Page 22 - Plastics News January 2017
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Sabic developing next- Chevron focuses on expansion
generation polypropylene in high growth sectors -
petrochemicals, additives
Materials maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp. will open a
new polypropylene resin pilot plant in Europe next year, Chevron is focusing on expanding in high growth
and is advancing in polymer foam as well. Saudi Arabia- sectors such as petrochemicals, additives, and
based Sabic will have a new pilot plant for development lubricants. By 2018, the company expects to increase
of next-generation PP on-stream in Sittard-Geleen, the the capital
Netherlands, by the end of March. employed in
its Chemicals
According to reports The plant will use gas-phase and
polymerization Lubricants
technology and segment
will support to 42%,
production at compared to
nearby full- 35% in 2015.
scale plants of
materials for Chevron is also focusing on the integration of refining
automotive, and petrochemical complexes at various sites to
increase operational synergies and benefits, as well
pipe, appliances and advanced packaging. The pilot plant as expand its petrochemical capacity and spread
is the latest in a series of investments made by Sabic at with some of its major ongoing projects. Chevron’s
the Brightlands Chemelot R&D and manufacturing campus carboxylate addition project, located in Singapore
in Sittard-Geleen. The company opened a new research and expected to be completed in 2017, is expected
facility there in May. “When [the pilot plant] starts up to double its worldwide lubricant capacity. Chevron’s
next year, we will have considerably more capacity to other petrochemical project, which includes the
develop new PP materials for commercialization in our construction of ethylene and polyethylene facilities
current European assets,” global PP technology director in Texas, is approximately 80% complete. The project
Lina Prada said. Sabic is taking a fast-track approach is expected to start up by 2017.
to construction and installation of the pilot plant. It’s
contracted that work to Zeton, a leading designer and Chevron Phillips Chemical is preparing for growth via
builder of innovative pilot and demonstration-scale plants the construction of its new $6 billion U.S. Gulf Coast
with facilities in the Netherlands and Canada. (USGC) Petrochemicals project. Located across two
sites, Old Ocean and Cedar Bayou, Texas, the USGC
Installation will begin this month after Zeton has built and Petrochemicals Project will use abundant shale
tested the plant. It then will be partially disassembled feedstocks to meet the ever-increasing global demand
into around 15 modules for delivery. Sabic is looking in for plastic products. This project includes a 1.5
particular to develop PP grades with improved stiffness/ million metric-ton-per-year ethane cracker, which will
impact, flow properties and other secondary properties, produce ethylene and two world-scale polyethylene
officials said. The firm plans to concentrate on development units that will each produce 500,000 metric tons of
of impact grades of PP, as well as random copolymers resin every year. By mid-2017, construction will be
and homopolymers. In polymer foam, Sabic is expanding complete and we will begin operating the facilities.
its portfolio to include more polyolefins (including POP Once production begins, USGC will serve the global
elastomers and POP plastomers), and engineering resins and growing demand for high quality plastics in
such as the firm’s own Lexan-brand polycarbonate and its industries.
modified PPE (Noryl) and polyetherimide (Ultem).
• January 2017 • Plastics News 22
