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Fujian Zhongjing Petrochemical Co. created, propane terrminal and  production site have also been added as well as polypropylene production plants and capacities.

#fujian  #fujianzhongjing  #china  #polypropylene  #spheripol  #lyondellbasell  #bopp #propane  #cryogenictank  #pdh  #propylene 

Polytama Propindo has been created and its mass balance completed.

#polytama  #propindo  #tubanpetro  #pertamina  #indonesia  #java  #polypropylene  #spheripol  #lyondellbasell 

Mass Balance has been completed.
Asset capacities and technologies have been identified.

#lyondellbasell  #berre  #france  #lupotecht  #spheripol 

AMUR GCC Project showing the 9 Linde Pyrolysis Furnaces and the Quench Tower | AGCC website

Amur Gas Chemical Complex: Navigating Technology Licensing Challenges

The Amur Gas Chemical Complex (Amur GCC) exemplifies the intricate balance between technological ambition and geopolitical realities. Originally designed to become the world’s largest polymer production site, the project has faced significant delays due to shifts in technology licensing dynamics, even as its core infrastructure advances.

The Amur GCC Project

Amur GCC stands as one of the most ambitious petrochemical undertakings in Russia’s recent history and a flagship of Russian-Chinese industrial cooperation. Located near Svobodny in the Amur region of Russia’s Far East, the project is a joint venture between SIBUR, Russia’s largest petrochemical company, holding a 60% stake, and China’s Sinopec, which owns the remaining 40%. When completed, Amur GCC will be among the world’s largest producers of base polymers, with a design capacity of 2.7 million tonnes per year—2.3 million tonnes of polyethylene and 400,000 tonnes of polypropylene.

The complex is integrated with the broader Amur gas processing and gas chemical cluster, ensuring direct feedstock supply via pipelines. Gazprom’s Amur Gas Processing Plant (Amur GPP), which processes natural gas from East Siberian fields, will supply the primary feedstock to Amur GCC: ethane (up to 2 million t/y), and LPG (propane/butane, ~1.1 million t/y).

Steam Cracker and Downstream Progress

At the heart of the complex lies its 2.3 million t/y ethylene plant, supplied and partially engineered by Linde before the German firm’s confirmed withdrawal in 2022. Linde’s contributions included delivering critical components like the 1,500-ton quench tower, transported from South Korea to the remote Amur site—a logistical triumph showcased in earlier project updates.



Quench tower delivery to AMUR GCC, Nov 2021 | Credit: Linde Engineering 

By January 2024, SIBUR released a progress video on AGCC status update as of December 2023, confirming that polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) production units were being deployed as originally planned. The footage shows equipment installation for these downstream facilities, suggesting that proprietary technologies from Western licensors—Univation (Unipol PE gas-phase plants), ChevronPhillips Chemical (PE slurry process, undefined if MarTECH Single Loop or Advanced Dual Loop), and LyondellBasell (Spheripol PP Technology)—remain integral to the project. This indicates that either licensing agreements persisted post-2022 or SIBUR/Sinopec retained rights to use the technologies despite licensors’ reduced involvement.



Amur GCC Progress Video, Jan 2024. Reactor in this screenshot is a Slurry Loop Reactor | Credit: Sibur

Licensing Uncertainties and Delays

While Linde publicly exited the project by July 2022, when part of the equipment, including the pyrolysis unit, had already been built, SIBUR and Sinopec decided to reconsider the strategy for implementing the project, redesigned it and replaced contractors and license holders for the polyethylene and polypropylene lines. To this date, the status of other Western partners remains ambiguous as public disclosures from SIBUR and Sinopec have not clarified whether CPChem, Univation, or LyondellBasell continue to provide technical support or if their pre-sanction contracts are being honored. The lack of explicit withdrawal announcements contrasts with the project’s two-year delay.



Amur GCC Progress Video, Jan 2024. Reactor in this screenshot is likely a Gas Phase Unipol PE reactor | Credit: Sibur

It is a matter of speculation if SIBUR and Sinopec may be relying on existing licenses, in-house expertise, or third-party intermediaries to proceed with the original technologies. The January 2024 video underscores that downstream unit construction aligns with initial designs, implying that the licensors’ intellectual property is still being utilized, albeit without confirmed active collaboration.

Construction began in August 2020 and mechanical completion has been delayed to 2026 (originally 2024–25). Despite licensing headwinds, the Amur GCC achieved 76% mechanical completion by mid-May 2025 with commercial polyethylene production to start by Q3 2026, polypropylene production and full operations expected to follow in 2027 (source: interfax.com).

Strategic Implications

The Amur GCC’s trajectory highlights the resilience of large-scale petrochemical projects in the face of geopolitical disruptions. While Linde’s exit created logistical and technical gaps, the continued use of Western-designed downstream technologies—whether through preserved licenses or workarounds—demonstrates SIBUR and Sinopec’s commitment to delivering a world-class facility. The complex’s success will hinge on operationalizing these units without direct licensor support, a challenge that could redefine global norms for technology transfer in sanctioned environments. For now, the Amur GCC stands as a testament to both international collaboration’s potential and its fragility in an era of shifting alliances.

#linde  #univation  #lyondellbasell  #chevronphillips  #cpchem  #sibur  #amurgcc  #sinopec 
#steamcracker  #ethyleneplant  #amur  #russia  #unipolpe  #martech  #slurryloop  #gasphasepe  #spheripol  #polyethylene  #polypropylene  #ethane  #lpg 

Ulsan PP created.

Ulsan PP has been created. Its PP plant, technology and production capacity have been added.


#ulsan #ulsanpp   #spheripol  #lyondelllbasell #korea 

PE and PP Plants with their technologies and capacities have been added.


#petronas  #saudiaramco  #prefchem  #pengerang  #lyondellbasell  #ineos  #spheripol  #spherizone  #innovene  #hostalen 

Polyolefin plants with technologies and capacities have been added.

#lotte #lottechemical  #malaysia  #unipolpe  #univation  #lyondellbasell  #spheripol 

Polyethylene plants with technologies and capacities have been added.


#lyondellbasell  #spheripol  #mitsui  #mitsuicx  #hdpe  #ldpe  #lottechemical  #malaysia 

The Ceyhan PP production site has been created and technologies identified and added.


#ceyhan  #turkiye  #sonatrach  #propane  #pdh  #dehydrogenation  #uop  #oleflex  #lyondellbasell  #spheripol 

The mass balance and polymerization technologies have been updated.

#russia #sibur  #tomskneftekhim  #lyondellbasell  #spheripol  #lupotech 

The Polypropylene Plant has been created.

#polypropylene

#safripol

#spheripol

#KAP

Safripol a polymer producer from South Africa has been created.

#safripol #southafrica  #polypropylene  #hdpe  #polyester  #pet  #hostalen  #spheripol  #invista 

Multiple technologies have been identified and added.
Work in progress to add other technologies used by the complex, not yet modelled on the platform. 

#kbr  #phenolacetone  #cumene  #badger  #lyondellbasell  #spheripol  #lupotech  #isopropylbenzene  #cumene  #badger  #bisphenol  #phenol  #polycarbonate  #asahikasei  #steamcracker  #gascracker  #eoeg  #ethyleneglycol  #meg  #scientificdesign  #hostalen  #hdpe 

All Polyolefin and EO/EG Technologies from Phase 1 and Phase 2 have been added as well as their production capacities.

#polyethylene  #polypropylene  #ethyleneglycol  #hpeo  #meg   #hdpe  #lldpe  #pp  #ineos  #lupotech  #spheripol  #spherizone  #univation  #unipolpe  #master  #lyondellbasell  #shell  #cnooc  #china  #cspc 

Polyolefin technologies, glycol process and their capacities have been identified.


#lyondellbasell  #novachemicals  #scientific  design #spheripol  #hostalen  #sclairtech  #india  #panipat  #refinery  #iocl 

Liwa Plastics Industries Complex (LIPC) has been added, the main technologies have been identified and the mass balance halfway developed.

#lummus  #lyondellbasell  #univation  #unipolpe  #spheripol  #srtsteamcracking  #ethyleneplant  #oman  #oq 

29^th May 2024 | Successful Signing! Significant Achievements in the Southeast Asian Market

Hualu Engineering & Technology Co., Ltd., and CC6, subsidiaries of China National Chemical Engineering Group Corporation (CNCEC) jointly signed an EPCC general contract for a 300 KTPA Propane Dehydrogenation to Polypropylene (PDH/PP) project with Vietnam Phu My Plastic Company (PMP) in Hanoi, Vietnam on September 23^rd.

The project is located in the CAIMEP Industrial Park in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Vietnam. The main construction includes a 300 KTPA PDH unit, a 300 KTPA PP unit, utility facilities, as well as plant-wide systems and auxiliary production facilities involving design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and startup.
 

12^th March 2019 | Plastics Manufacturer In Vietnam Taps Honeywell Technology To Produce Propylene

Phu My Plastics Production JSC to become first in Vietnam to use Honeywell’s Oleflex™ propane dehydrogenation technology

DES PLAINES, Ill., March 12, 2019 — Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced today that Phu My Plastics Production JSC will use Honeywell UOP’s C₃ Oleflex™ technology to produce polymer-grade propylene at its facility in Vietnam. The plant will help meet growing domestic demand for plastics in Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia. This is the first award for Honeywell’s propane dehydrogenation technology in Vietnam.

Honeywell UOP will provide technology licensing for the Oleflex process, the process design package, proprietary and non-proprietary equipment, on-site operator training, technical services for startup and continuing operation, and proprietary catalysts and adsorbents.

21^st May 2019 | Phu My Plastics Production JSC selects LyondellBasell’s Spheripol technology for its new 300 KTA polypropylene plant in Vietnam

ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands, May 21, 2019 – LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) today announced that Phu My Plastics Production JSC. (PMP), has selected the Spheripol polypropylene process technology for a 300 KTA plant in Vietnam.


#phumyplastics  #pmp  #vietnam  #polypropylene  #propylene  #oleflex  #spheripol

Several technologies and production capacities have been added to HMEL's Guru Gobind Singh Refinery.

#lummus  #lyondellbasell  #chevronphillipschemical  #cpchem  #p örner #bituros  #asphaltblowing  #steamcracker  #dualfeed  #martech  #novolen  #unipol  #spheripol  #univation  #asphaltblowing 

LyondellBasell's Spheripol technology description has been updated.

#lyondellbasell #spheripol  #technology  #polypropylene