Union Carbide, Petronas to Build Chemicals Complex in Malaysia
Union Carbide Corporation and Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Berhad), the national oil company of Malaysia, have finalized the formation of a joint venture company that will build and operate an integrated chemicals complex in Malaysia. The complex-one of the largest of its kind in the region-will be located in the Kerteh industrial area on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Union Carbide and Petronas expect the new facility to begin operations in 2001.
The facility will manufacture specialty and intermediate products including butyl glycol ethers and butyl acetate solvents, ethanolamines, surfactants and butanol. It will also manufacture ethylene oxide, some of which will be used to make ethylene glycol. Its output will serve primarily Southeast Asia's growing petrochemicals markets.
The complex has been designed to be the region's first totally integrated petrochemical facility, from raw material supply to shipments of finished products, and to combine leading-edge ethylene and propylene chemistry in one location. It will share existing infrastructure, thus maximizing energy use and production efficiencies and flexibility while minimizing investment. The complex will draw from Petronas' world-scale gas-extraction plant, which will provide feedstocks to a 600,000 metric tons-per-year ethane/propane cracker, jointly owned by the partners. The cracker will supply ethylene for the complex's ethylene oxide and derivatives units and propylene for oxo alcohol production. World-scale production units and their capacities are:
- Ethylene oxide, 385,000 tons;
- Ethylene glycol, 365,000 tons ;
- Ethanolamines, 75,000 tons;
- TRITON and TERGITOL surfactants, CARBOWAX polyethylene glycols and UCON polyalkylene glycols, 85,000 tons;
- Butanol, 140,000 tons;
- Butanol derivatives, 160,000 tons.
Include butyl acetate, butyl acrylate and butyl CELLOSOLVE (glycol ethers).
Edited by Beth Brindle