14 July 2014
Muscat - Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Co (Orpic) has announced the award of five technology licensor contracts valued at around US$80mn for its US$3.6bn Liwa Plastic Project (LPP). The contracts relate to various LPP units - NGL extraction, PyGas hydrogenation, MTBE, poly­propylene, and polyethylene. 

LPP is a steam cracker project, which will process light ends produced in Orpic's Sohar Refinery and its Aromatics plant, as well as optimise natural gas liquids (NGLs) extracted from currently available natural gas supplies. Thus, the technology contracts that have been awarded are of paramount importance to the different stages of the project's production processes. 

The NGL extraction technology will be provided by Randall and will be put to use in a natural gas extraction plant located in Fahud, a press release said on Monday.

The plant will send its pro­ducts through a 300km pipeline between Fahud and Sohar Ind­ustrial Port. 

The technology for the PyGas Hydrogenation unit will be provided by Axens. The unit is designed to produce a number of high-value components, such as isoprene, benzene, toluene and xylenes. CB & I have been chosen as the licensor of the MTBE producing unit.

A licensor contract has also been awarded to Basell Poliolefine, which will be meeting the technological requirements for the Polypropylene unit. This is a single bulk polymerisation line that is based on the LyondellBasell proprietary Spheripol process. Products in the form of pellets will be available in 25kg bags, big bags and in bulk, for export and local markets.

Polypropylene is used in a wide variety of applications, including packaging and labeling, textiles, stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers. The new unit will add significantly to Orpic's existing polypropylene production capacity.

In addition, Univation will be the technology provider for the polyethylene unit. Polyethylene is currently a form of plastic most in demand in the global marketplace. LPP is scheduled for completion in 2018. 

© Muscat Daily 2014