Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 17
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
The work on the construction of a polyethylene plant within the framework of the SOCAR Polymer project in Sumgait has been completed by 98 percent, a source in the oil and gas market of Azerbaijan close to the project said Sept. 17.
"The engineering work and the purchase of equipment have been completed by 100 percent, the supply of materials and equipment - by 99.8 percent, and the construction work - by 97.6 percent. In general, the level of readiness of the plant for commissioning is 98 percent," the source said.
The source noted that the plant is planned to be launched by December 2018.
"The commissioning work will begin in October-November. That is, it is possible to start production as early as in December. These are our current plans," the source said.
The source also noted that it is planned to produce 40,000 tons of polypropylene by the end of the year at the polypropylene plant, the opening of which has taken place in July.
"The planned shutdown of the Heydar Aliyev Baku Oil Refinery and the enterprises of the Azerkimya Production Association is expected in October-November of this year. So September and December remain for implementation of production activity," the source said.
The SOCAR Polymer project is being implemented at the Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park. At the first stage, the production capacity of SOCAR Polymer LLC will be 120,000 tons of polyethylene and 180,000 tons of polypropylene. By 2021, the total manufacturing capacity can reach 570,000 tons of products.
The plant will produce 19 types of products from polypropylene and 12 types of products from high-density polyethylene. The products will be used, in particular, in the food and medical industry, as well as in agriculture and automobile production.
The total investment costs of the project are estimated at $816 million. The credit in the amount of $489 million for a period of 10 years was allocated to SOCAR Polymer LLC by the Russian "Gazprombank" JSC.