Borouge-II will be on stream by middle of 2010

Abu Dhabi: The $5 billion (Dh18.39 billion), 1.5 million metric tonne a year Borouge-II petrochemical project of the Abu Dhabi Polymers Co. in Ruwais is now 90 per cent complete and will be on stream by the middle of 2010, Abu Dhabi Polymers Chief Executive Officer Abdul Aziz A. Al Hajiri said here on Tuesday.

"By 2014, Borouge-III will also come on stream which would lift our total production capacity to 4.5 million tonnes per year," Al Hajiri told reporters on the sidelines of a petrochemicals conference.

"We will be issuing tenders for the polyolefins part of Borouge III within a month," he added.

As well, Al Hajiri said he expects the cost of building the 2.5 million tonne a year Borouge III project to be lower than Borouge-II, but declined to be more specific.

He said Borouge-I was built at a cost of $1.2 billion and has a production capacity of 600,000 tons a year.

Borouge -II is being funded by Borouge's owners - the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Borealis. Borouge-II is being constructed alongside Borouge's present plant.

The EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) packages include a new ethylene cracker — the largest grass-roots cracker in the world — two Borstar polypropylene plants with an annual capacity of 800,000 tonnes, and a Borstar enhanced polyethylene plant with an annual capacity of 540,000 tonnes.

Also included is an olefins conversion unit with total annual output of 752,000 tonnes of propylene plus utilities and off sites to support the expanded production.

The bulk of Borouge's output is to be exported, said Al Hajeri. "The markets for Borouge's exports are the Middle East, South Asia, North East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and North Africa."