Regional ethylene production receives massive boost from new EQUATE facility
Kuwait’s EQUATE Petrochemical Company announced in December the launch of commercial operations at the Olefins II Kuwait Program (OL2K) Ethylene Unit (EU2). The unit began initial production in late November.
Olefins are made from fractionates of natural gas liquids, typically turned into ethylene and propylene, the building blocks for other chemicals, plastics, and fibers. Polyethylene is the world’s most widely used plastic, and is made by reacting ethylene and other olefins to form polymers.
“With a total production capacity of 850 000 metric tons annually, the new unit’s construction proved to be a challenging and rewarding project,” said Yousef Al-Ateeqi EQUATE’s chairman.
The new unit is owned by The Kuwait Olefins Company (TKOC) and operated by EQUATE, and the output is expected to be marketed to customers in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.
“This is an outstanding accomplishment and represents the culmination of efforts of over four years, starting with the project team grouping representatives from Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) and EQUATE, along with Technip USA/Italy and its main subcontractor Consolidated Contractors Company and many other supporting subcontractors and individuals,” added Al-Ateeqi.
Al-Ateeqi, who is also PIC’s deputy managing director for Olefins, noted “The EU2 project had an outstanding safety record with 16 million safe work hours.”
On his part, EQUATE’s president and CEO Hamad Al-Terkait congratulated all teams who have contributed to this success, expressing utmost trust in the abilities of all individuals involved in the OL2K and EQUATE to fully execute this world class project.
Al-Terkait added “This is a true historical moment for PIC, DOW, EQUATE, TKOC and all other stakeholders.”
“We’re extremely pleased with the efficient and timely start-up of this newest EO/EG unit, which once again validates the critical role our technical teams and our METEOR EO/EG Process plays in the global industrial marketplace,” said Dr. Molly Zhang, business vice president of Dow Technology Licensing.
The new unit is a critical part of the OL2K project and will provide the Ethyl Benzene-Styrene Monomer, expanded Polyethylene and Ethylene Glycol plants with Ethylene supplies.
