MOSCOW (MRC) -- Singapore's Jurong Aromatics Corp expects to start its new aromatics plant at Jurong island in August, reported Apic-online with reference to a source close to the company.
The schedule is slightly delayed from an earlier plan of H2 July.
The plant will have capacity to produce 800,000 mt/year of paraxylene, 400,000 mt/year of benzene and 200,000 mt/year of orthoxylene.
"The company is likely to start test run in August and may be able to produce on-spec cargoes within August," the source said.
BP has a USD10 billion deal to supply JAC with condensate and offtake some of the new plant's production. Other companies with offtake deals include Vinmar, SK Energy, Glencore and Jiangsu Sanfangxiang.
JAC's shareholders are SK International Investment Singapore (30%), Sanhai (25%), Houston-based Arovin (10.5%), Glencore International (10%), Shefford Investments (9.5%), UVM Investment (5.1%), Singapore's EDB Investments (5%) and India-based Essar Projects (4.9%).
As MRC informed previously, South Korea's Samsung Total Petrochemicals is set to expand oil product sales to the domestic and export markets once it starts production of gasoil and jet fuel from its new Daesan aromatics plant later this year. The new plant will enable the petrochemical firm to produce gasoil for the very first time, from a 150,000 bpd condensate splitter primarily designed to supply feedstock for aromatics production. Capacity at the Samsung Total plant will comprise 1.05 mln mt of gasoil and 1.45 mln mt of jet fuel annually from its new aromatics plant that will start production as early as July this year.
Samsung Total is a 50-50 joint venture between South Korea's Samsung Group and the French chemical group Total.
MRC