BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 30. As of September, the progress of construction of the Silleno polyethylene plant with an annual capacity of 1.25 million tons in Kazakhstan’s Atyrau Region has exceeded 39%, Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas (KMG) said.
Construction works are proceeding in accordance with the approved schedule, the company’s press service said.
“Work is currently underway at the pyrolysis, polymerization and utilities facilities, including the construction of buildings and structures, installation of engineering networks and technological equipment,” KMG said.
At the pyrolysis unit, where ethylene, the main feedstock for polyethylene production, will be produced, foundation works for buildings, equipment and pipe racks are 73% complete. The installation of steel structures and prefabrication of process pipelines are also underway.
The first large-scale technological equipment has been installed in its designated position - an ethylene fractionation column 101.8 meters high, manufactured in Kazakhstan at the AtyrauNefteMash plant. The installation of furnaces and cryogenic tanks is ongoing.
At the polymerization unit and utilities facilities, pile driving has reached 88%, while foundation works are also underway.
More than 5,000 people and over 500 units of special equipment have been mobilized at the construction site.
According to Silleno LLP, the polyethylene production project is being implemented in the Karabatan industrial zone of the National Industrial Petrochemical Technopark Special Economic Zone in Kazakhstan’s Atyrau Region. The plant is designed to reduce Kazakhstan’s dependence on polyethylene imports and develop domestic production, contributing to economic growth, job creation and the expansion of the country’s export potential.
The plant’s production is expected to account for about 1% of global polyethylene output, while the facility will rank among the world’s largest in terms of scale and technological equipment. The plant will have an annual polyethylene production capacity of 1.25 million tons and will use about 1.6 million tons of ethane per year as feedstock.
The project is scheduled to be implemented from 2022 to 2029.
