An agreement to build a $13.3bn petrochemical plant, billed as the largest in the world, has been agreed between China National Chemical Engineering Group (CNCEC) and Baltic Chemical Complex, a subsidiary of RusGasDobycha.
The deal to build the Baltic Chemical Complex, which was signed in Sichuan province on 11 October, gives CNCEC the role of general contractor for the scheme
Dai Hegen, chairman of CNCEC, described the deal in an interview with China Central Television as the biggest ethylene integration project in the world, the biggest single contract in the petrochemical field and the biggest contract signed by a Chinese enterprise.
The plant, which will process Russian natural gas, is to be built at the port of Ust-Luga near the Gulf of Finland. It will consist of two sets of ethylene crackers with an annual capacity of 1.4 million tonnes, six polyethylene trains with an annual capacity of 480,000 tonnes and two linear alpha olefin facilities – used in the production of polyethylene – with an annual capacity of 137,000 tons.
The project is to be divided into three phases: infrastructure extension, early stage engineering and then project implementation. The contract period is five years.
RusGasDobycha is a private company owned by Ukrainian-born businessman Artem Obolensky, which is in a joint natural gas venture with Gazprom. He is also the developer of the $6bn Nakhodka Fertilizer Plant, the largest in Russia, which is due to become operational in 2022.
CNCEC is a Wuhan-based company with some 320 projects under way in more than 60 countries worth over $58bn.
Image: A cargo ship entering the port of Ust-Luga (Dreamstime)
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