Chinese consortium to build Petronas’ flexi HDPE plant

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) senior vice-president and PRPC Polymers Sdn Bhd director Dr Colin Wong (right) exchanges contract documents with Tecnimont S.p.A CEO Pierroberto Folgiero to build a.flexible high-density polyethylene plant in Pengerang. PRPC is a subsidiary of Petronas Chemicals Group.

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has signed the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract for Pengerang Integrated Complex's (PIC) flexible high-density polyethylene (flexi HDPE) plant.

In a statement, Petronas said it signed the contract with the Chinese consortium of Tecnimont S.p.A, China Huanqiu Contracting and Engineering Co Ltd, TECNIMONTHQC S.c.a.r.l and TecnimontHQC Sdn Bhd.

“The consortium received the letter of award from PRPC Polymers Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Petronas Chemicals Group on Nov 10, 2016,” it said.

The plant would be completed and achieve “Ready for Start-Up” by May 2019, it said.
 
“The signing of this contract affirms that petrochemicals remains a key component in Petronas’ business growth, where we intend to be a major regional player, providing wider portfolio of petrochemical products and solutions,” said Petronas senior vice-president and director of PRPC Polymers Sdn Bhd, Dr Colin Wong Hee Huing.

The flexi HDPE plant is the first of its kind in Petronas and Malaysia, utilising the Hostalen Advanced Cascade Process Slurry Technology for Multi-modal HDPE, licensed by Lyondellbasell. 

The plant, with 400,000 metric tonnes per annum capacity, would produce a range of multimodal HDPE products, complementing Petronas polyethylene portfolio, upon completion.

The Flexi HDPE, produced in the form of pallets, enables custom-made production of very-high-molecular-weight polymers desirable for end-products such as pressure pipes for drinking water, gas, industrial and general purposes, as well as household containers and bottles. - Bernama