Monday 28 January 2013

Petronas, Evonik Industries ink LOI for Rapid project

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and Evonik Industries AG have inked a Letter of Intent (LOI) to jointly develop production facilities of specialty chemicals within the Petronas refinery and petrochemical integrated development (Rapid) project in Pengerang, Johor.

Under the LOI, the two parties will endeavour to form a partnership to jointly own, develop, construct and operate facilities for the production of hydrogen peroxide, C4 co-monomer and oxo-products within Rapid.

In a joint statement today, they said the plants are expected to have the capacity to produce 250,000 tonnes of hydrogen peroxide, 220,000 tonnes of isononanol and 110,000 tonnes of 1-butene annually.
"These projects are expected to come on stream in 2016," it said.

The LOI was signed in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 16.

Evonik is a creative industrial group from Germany, one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals.
The two parties also said that the hydrogen peroxide will be used on site to produce propylene oxide by the licensed, eco-friendly HPPO process, Evonik had jointly developed with ThyssenKrupp Uhde.

Evonik executive board member Dr Dahai Yu said the entire project is set to mark another milestone in the company's growth strategy in the Asian market.

"This is why we're seeking for a strong long-term strategic partner like Petronas," he added.
Petronas COO and executive vice-president of downstream business, Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said Evonik's excellent track record and more than 100 years of experience in the industry, made it another strategic partner in the development of Rapid.

– Bernama