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MOSCOW (MRC) -- OMV (Vienna, Austria)
says it is investing EUR40 million (USD48 million) to expand and modernize a
steam cracker and associated units at its refining and petrochemicals complex at
Burghausen, Germany, said Chemweek.
The
upgrade will increase the site’s ethylene and propylene production capacity by
50,000 metric tons/year. Following a planned turnaround of the refinery, the
revamped cracker and petchem units are expected to start operations in the third
quarter of 2022. Initial groundwork is already underway ahead of the upgrade, it
says.
“By expanding the cracker, OMV is consistently delivering on its
petrochemical strategy for a future-proof refinery,” says OMV’s Thomas Gangl,
chief downstream operations officer. “This goes hand in hand with the growth in
the chemical industry and serves as a response to increasing customer demand,”
he says.
The increased production of ethylene and propylene will help to
meet growing demand for the products in the neighboring Bavarian chemical
triangle and in international markets, OMV says.
The 3.8-million metric
tons/year crude refinery in Burghausen is part of OMV’s wider network, operating
alongside two other refining and petchem sites in Schwechat, Austria, and
Petrobrazi, Romania. Burghausen’s refinery produces petchems including ethylene,
propylene, and butadiene, as well as middle distillates such as kerosene,
diesel, and heating oil.
As per MRC, OMV is considering
increasing its investment in the processing industry in Abu Dhabi by
expanding its existing joint venture with Borouge.
Ethylene and propylene
are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's DataScope report, PE
imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and
reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the
greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia
increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months
of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase
in imports.
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