MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petrochemical giant Ineos intends to increase the ethylene capacity of its cracker facilities at Grangemouth in Scotland and Rafnes in Norway to over 1 million tonnes each, as per company's press-release.
The company currently produces nearly 4.5 million tonnes of ethylene and propylene annually across Europe, but remains the largest buyer of ethylene and propylene in the region.
Ineos Olefins and Polymers North CEO Gerd Franken said: "These are exciting times for Ineos as we plan to further increase the capacity of our crackers and at the same time to build an entirely new PDH plant in Europe. These expansions and new builds will increase our self-sufficiency in all key olefin products” Ineos founder Jim Ratcliffe added: “These projects represent the first substantial investments in the European chemicals industry for many years. It has only been made possible because of our USD2 billion investment in our Dragon Ships programme which allows us to import ethane and LPG from the US."
In combination, these three major projects will significantly increase the quantities of propylene and ethylene produced by INEOS in Europe, and will support the continued growth and future profitability of INEOS’ ethylene and propylene derivative businesses.
As MRC informed earlier, Ineos announced plans to construct a world-scale PDH (Propane Dehydrogenation) unit in Europe. The plant will produce 750,000 tonnes per annum of propylene for Ineos units across the continent. A number of possible locations are currently being considered including a number of Ineos sites at Antwerp in Belgium.
Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
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