Page 22 - Plastics News September 2019

COMPANY NEWS

Borealis breaks ground on world- Total stre ngthens its
scale PDH plant international partnership with

Qatar Petroleum
orealis has held a ground-breaking ceremony for its
Bworld-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in otal and Qatar Petroleum have further strengthened
Kallo, Belgium, which has a targeted production capacity Ttheir international partnership by signing agreements
of 750,000 tonnes per year of propylene. The €1 billion under which Qatar Petroleum will farm into Total-held
($1.1bn) investment is the largest ever made by Borealis exploration acreage in Namibia, Guyana and Kenya.
in Europe. PDH is a vital process step in the production Following completion of the transactions, which are
subject to approval by relevant authorities, Qatar
Petroleum will partner with Total in each country. Total
will transfer a combined 25% interest in Blocks L11A,
L11B and L12 to Qatar Petroleum. Total’s interest will
be reduced from 45% to 33.75%. All three blocks are
located in Kenya’s deep offshore. An exploration well
is planned for Block L11B in 2020. “Following on from
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gas province on the Brulpadda prospect in South Africa,
the latest agreements are an important milestone
in the long-standing partnership between Total and
Qatar Petroleum,” stated Arnaud Breuillac, President
of propylene from propane. “The Borealis investment in Exploration & Production at Total
the new Kallo plant is not only the largest investment we In Namibia Total will transfer to Qatar Petroleum a 30%
KDYH HYHU PDGH LQ (XURSH ² LW LV DOVR WKH PRVW VLJQLÀFDQW interest in Block 2913B and retain a 40% interest. Total
investment in Europe by a petrochemicals industry player will also transfer to Qatar Petroleum 28.33% in Block
in the last 20 years,” said Borealis’ chief executive Alfred 2912 and retain 37.78%. The deepwater blocks are
Stern. “Investing in our European assets is a clear signal ORFDWHG LQ WKH 2UDQJH %DVLQ RIIVKRUH 1DPLELD $ ÀUVW
of our commitment to enhancing the efficiency and
sustainability of our operations, but also to bolstering the
region as an essential industrial hub.”European demand for
propylene is growing, yet presently, supply is decreasing
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start-up of the Kallo plant, scheduled for the middle of
2022, means that European customers will soon be able
to rely on the secure supply of competitively priced
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Borealis’ decision to invest in the Kallo location. First,
the economies of scale offered by the Port of Antwerp exploration well is scheduled to be drilled next year
on Block 2913B, while in Guyana Qatar Petroleum will
LQ )ODQGHUV DUH VLJQLÀFDQW GXH WR LWV ZHOO HVWDEOLVKHG have 40% of the company holding Total’s existing 25%
transportation and logistics infrastructure. Thanks to interests in the Orinduik and Kanuku blocks, adjacent to
the adjacency to an existing Borealis production unit on
site, Borealis will be able to exploit additional synergistic WKH 6WDEURHN %ORFN LQ WKH SUROLÀF RIIVKRUH *X\DQD %DVLQ
Total will retain the remaining 60% of this company.
effects. Crucially, the new PDH plant will employ Qatar Petroleum became a shareholder of Total E&P
Honeywell UOP’s Oleflex technology for on-purpose Congo in 2013, acquiring 15% of its share capital. In
propylene production. Above and beyond the increase 2018, Total transferred a 25% working interest to Qatar
in production capacity, the new plant is helping make Petroleum in the 11B/12B license it operates in South
%RUHDOLV RSHUDWLRQV PRUH HIÀFLHQW DQG VXVWDLQDEOH Africa, site of the recent Brulpadda discovery.

Plastics News September 2019 22