Map Ta Phut Olefins lets contract for cracker debottlenecking, expansion

Oct. 4, 2018
Map Ta Phut Olefins Co. Ltd. (MOC), a joint-venture of Siam Cement Public Co. Ltd. subsidiary SGC Chemicals Co. Ltd. and Dow Chemical Co., has let a contract to McDermott International Inc. to provide process technology for the upgrade and expansion of an existing olefins cracker at MOC’s petrochemical plant in Rayong Province, Thailand.

Map Ta Phut Olefins Co. Ltd. (MOC), a joint-venture of Siam Cement Public Co. Ltd. subsidiary SGC Chemicals Co. Ltd. and Dow Chemical Co., has let a contract to McDermott International Inc. to provide process technology for the upgrade and expansion of an existing olefins cracker at MOC’s petrochemical plant in Rayong Province, Thailand.

As part of the contract, McDermott will deliver basic engineering and technology licensing of its Lummus olefins technology as well as design and supply of the proprietary Short Residence Time (SRT) III heater for MOC’s cracker debottlenecking project, which will involve adding a parallel gas cracker to increase plant capacity using the Lummus' side-cracker technology, including a low-pressure chilling train and enhanced binary refrigeration, the service provider said.

The side-cracker technology will enable a cost-effect expansion of a liquid-feed plant that already has reached its maximum capacity using conventional technology, according Daniel M. McCarthy, executive vice-president of McDermott’s Lummus technology business.

While portions of the contract were booked in previous quarters, McDermott said it will reflect the heater-supply portion of the award in its third-quarter 2018 backlog.

McDermott valued the overall value of the order at between $1 million and $50 million.

In July and September presentations to investors, SGC said MOC’s $485-million cracker debottlenecking project—which would expand the olefins cracker by 350,000 tonnes/year (20%) to 2.05 million tpy—is scheduled to be completed in second-quarter 2021 and ready for startup by midyear.