ADNOC and Borealis to invest in new polyethylene facility
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Borealis signed their final investment agreement to build Borouge 4 in Ruwais, United Arab Emirates, which will produce 1.4 million tons of polyethylene per annum. Borouge 4 will meet growing customer demand across the Middle East, Africa and Asia with differentiated polyolefin solutions in energy, infrastructure, and advanced packaging.
The first Borouge facility, producing 450,000 tons of polyethylene per annum was commissioned in 2001. Borouge 2 and Borouge 3 took capacity to 2 million tons and 4.5 million tons of polyethylene and polypropylene per annum in 2010 and 2014 respectively. Borouge 4 will boost the company’s annual polyolefin production to 6.4 million tons, making Borouge the world’s largest single-site polyolefin facility. It will supply feedstock to TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone.
The new Borouge 4 facility covers an area equivalent to almost 500 football pitches, or more than three times the size of Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi. The expansion project includes the construction of a 1.5 million tonnes ethane cracker, two state-of-the-art Borstar® polyethylene plants and a cross-linked polyethylene plant.
Borouge 4 to be operational by 2025
Scheduled to be operational by the end of 2025, the investment in the project is valued at USD6.2 billion.
The final investment agreement was signed at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) by His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO and Borealis CEO, Thomas Gangl.
Borouge 4 will have an industry-leading focus on sustainability leveraging the capabilities of both shareholders. The facility will utilize Borealis’ proprietary Borstar technology, to produce a product portfolio focused on durable applications for energy, infrastructure, advanced packaging, and agriculture sectors. This unique technology, in combination with hexene co-monomer, will enable the production of advanced packaging grades with up to 50% recycled polyethylene content.
Subject to an in-depth study, a Carbon Capture unit that would reduce CO2 emissions by 80% could also be operational in time for Borouge 4’s start-up. The facility is also designed to capitalize on ADNOC’s recent initiatives on clean energy, decarbonizing its power supply through access to Abu Dhabi’s clean power sources. These initiatives are aligned with the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative.
