Toyo Engineering Corporation (TOYO, President and CEO Yutaka Yamada) and ENPPI, an engineering company under the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum, have been jointly awarded a contract to build a 460,000 T/Y ethylene plant and a 20,000 T/Y butadiene extraction plant as part of Ethydco’s petrochemical complex to be established in Alexandria, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and owned by ETHYDCO (The Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company), a newly established company under the investment law no. 8/1997 of Egypt. This will be TOYO’s second ethylene plant in Egypt after 300,000 T/Y ethylene plant completed in 2001 for Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Co. (SIDPEC).
Based on the most advanced ethylene technology of Lummus Technology of the U.S., TOYO and ENPPI will execute the EPC and Commissioning under a lump-sum turnkey contract. TOYO will lead the entire project execution, undertaking project management, basic engineering, a part of detailed engineering, and procurement of key equipment.
ENPPI will be in charge of joint project management, detailed engineering and procurement of other equipment and materials. Both companies will execute the construction and commissioning in collaboration with PETROJET, an Egyptian construction company, which will be participating as a subcontractor. The contract’s value is approximately $600 million and the plant is scheduled for start-up in early 2015.
This project is an addition to TOYO’s brilliant track record as TOYO’s forty first ethylene plant projects worldwide and the fifth project in Egypt. Reflecting growing demand for petrochemical products under economic growth in the country, the Egyptian Government announced its 20-year Petrochemicals Master Plan to develop the Petrochemicals Industry in 2001, under the sponsorship and supervision of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Co. (Echem). Hence, this project is to be executed as part of the national Petrochemicals Master Plan. TOYO, through this project, will contribute to the development of the petrochemical industry in the country and aim to acquire a downstream plant of this ethylene complex.
Other projects include the Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (Ethydco) with capacities of 460,000tpa ethylene and 20,000tpa butadiene, which is scheduled to start in 2015. Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (Sidpec) is planning to build a 460,000tpa ethylene plant in Egypt, which will take three years to complete. In 2015, Carbon Holdings is planning to bring onstream a polyethylene (PE) complex – with capacities of 900,000tpa ethylene and 400,000tpa propylene – and three PE plants, each designed for 450,000tpa, one high density polyethylene (HDPE) and the other two HDPE/ linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) swing units. Other areas of expansion in Egypt include styrenics, polyester, polyethylene, methanol and fertilizers.
In the Middle East and Africa Petrochemicals Risk/Reward Ratings (RRRs), Egypt is ranked ninth with 44.5 points. It lies 4.0 points behind Turkey and 5.3 points ahead of Algeria. The score has downside risks, owing to the uncertain political environment following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. Protests have temporarily closed petrochemicals facilities and continued uncertainty could put potential investment, as well as growth in output, at risk. However, growth in capacity should remain stable, making Egypt more self-sufficient in petrochemicals and turning it into a net exporter in some segments.
By Eng. Ezz Eldin Alam Mohamed, EGPC’s Reservoir Studies General Manager
