Repsol SA has let a contract to a division of Maire Tecnimont SPA to provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for the addition of two new units to expand production of specialty chemicals at subsidiary Repsol Polímeros SA’s petrochemical complex at the Sines Industrial and Logistics Zone, about 5 km northeast of Sines, Portugal, 150 km south of Lisbon (OGJ Online, July 9, 2021).
As part of lump-sum turnkey EPC contract, subsidiary Tecnimont SPA will deliver complete engineering services, equipment and material supply, installation, and construction of a 300,000-tonnes/year (tpy) linear polyethylene plant and a 300,000-tpy polypropylene plant, the service provider said on July 26.
Valued at about €430 million, the contract also stipulates an option to add on commissioning and startup services for the unit at a later date, according to Maire Tecnimont.
Designed to expand the site’s production of 100%-recyclable polymeric materials for use in highly specialized applications aligned with energy transition initiatives within the pharmaceutical, automotive, and food industries, the new units are part of the operator’s broader €657-million petrochemicals expansion at Sines, Respol said in early July.
Due for startup in 2025, the project additionally will include construction of new logistics installations to enable use of rail transport for improving the complex’s connection to European markets and reducing its carbon-related emissions during transportation of products.
The operator said the project—which is aimed at further increasing the flexibility, integration, and competitiveness of the Sines complex and its petrochemical business to help secure current and future employment opportunities at the site—will create up to 1,000 potential jobs during construction as well as 75 direct and 300 indirect permanent jobs following its commissioning.
Alongside complementing Repsol’s ongoing commitment under its 2021-25 strategic plan to advance the energy transition and meet its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 in accordance with the Paris Agreement, the Sines expansion also aligns with the operator’s objective of boosting trade competitiveness of Portugal’s domestic industrial sector by increasing availability, volume, and proximity of high-demand chemicals to export markets (OGJ Online, Nov. 11, 2020).
Repsol earlier confirmed expansion of the Sines complex’s production of 100%-recyclable polymeric materials—crucial role to a decarbonized future because of their energy efficient properties—comes as part of its estimated €18.3-billion in investments under the 2021-25 plan, which includes projects already under way in renewable and low-emissions fuels production, energy efficiency, low-emissions electricity generation, renewable hydrogen, circular economy initiatives, synthetic fuels, as well as CO2 capture, use, and storage (OGJ Online, Jan. 22, 2021).
Located at the Port of Sines, Repsol’s Sines petrochemical complex currently houses a steam cracker and additional derivatives units equipped to produce the following:
- Ethylene, 410,000 tpy.
- Propylene, 220,000 tpy.
- Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), 145,000 tpy.
- High-density polyethylene (HDPE), 150,000 tpy.
- Butadiene, 52,000 tpy.
- Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE)-ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE), 53,000 tpy (flexible).
