Mideast petrochemical complex doubles capacity

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug. 27 -- Expansion of the petrochemicals complex at Shaiba, Kuwait, about 25 miles south of Kuwait City, was completed earlier this summer, according to its engineering contractor Fluor Corp., Irving, Tex. The project spanned 5 years.

Fluor began work on Olefins II in July 2004 by providing overall management consultancy and front-end engineering and design for utilities and infrastructure. Olefins II doubles capacity of the existing complex that has operated there since 1998 (OGJ, Sept. 15, 1997, p. 36).

In addition to overall management consultancy and FEED, Fluor handled FEED and engineering, procurement, and construction management for seawater cooling towers, polyethylene expansion, expansion of existing utilities and infrastructure, and new utilities and infrastructure shared with aromatics.

Olefins II also included Fluor oversight of engineering and construction of:

-- An 850,000-tonne/year ethane cracker.

-- A 600,000-tpy ethylene glycol unit.

-- A 450,000-tpy ethyl benzene/styrene monomer unit.

-- A debottleneck expansion of an additional 225,000 tpy of polyethylene capacity at the existing complex.

In 1998, Fluor completed the original complex at Shaiba. In 2005, after completion of FEED work for Olefins II, Fluor was chosen to expand the plant and build a new facility alongside the existing one while integrating the two facilities into a single complex (OGJ Online, Nov. 12, 2004).

The complex is owned by a joint venture of Dow Chemical Co., Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co., Bubyan Petrochemical, and Qurain Petrochemical Industries.