Abu Dhabi’s Borouge plant commissions new polypropylene unit, targets rising global demand
Polypropylene finds its uses in recyclable packaging, infrastructure and industrial sector
Dubai: The ADNOC and Brealis joint venture project in Abu Dhabi, Borouge has started operations at its fifth polypropylene unit (PP5) in Ruwais. The new unit will boost the UAE’s production of polypropylene to meet a growing global demand for manufactured products in recyclable advanced packaging, infrastructure and other industrial sectors.
This makes Borouge’s Abu Dhabi manufacturing facilities the world's largest single-site polyolefin complex.
The Borouge complex represents one of the significant achievements for the UAE in the industrial space. The confirmation of the new unit comes at a time when ADNOC and Borealis are considering an IPO for their joint venture. The Ruwais facility creates multiple polyolefin solutions for the global market.
Built within the Borouge 3 plant, PP5 represents a key milestone in Borouge’s 2030 growth strategy. The unit will deliver 480,000 tonnes per year (t/y) and contribute to increasing overall polypropylene production capacity by more than 25 per cent to 2.24 million t/y. The polymer capacity of polyolefins will rise by 11 per cent from 4.5 t/y to 5 million t/y.
The new facility will have the annual capacity to manufacture raw materials to “produce enough pipes for the water supply networks for the equivalent of 6,500 Burj Khalifa buildings”.
The start-up of PP5 follows soon after the announcement of the Final Investment Decision for the Borouge 4 expansion.
"This marks further progress on Borouge’s growth journey and the development of Ruwais into a dynamic, global hub for downstream activity,” said Hazeem Sultan Al Suwaidi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge).
“Our PP5 unit, will enable us to meet our customers’ increasing demand for polypropylene solutions, especially in the packaging and infrastructure sectors across our key markets in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa.”
According to Rainer Hoefling, CEO of Borouge, “We work closely with our customers and value chain partners to achieve their circular economy commitments through several initiatives. These include the development of mono-material packaging solutions that are designed for recyclability.”
Construction of the PP5 unit started in December 2018 and was completed during the pandemic months. More than one hundred Borouge employees and four thousand contractors worked on the project.