AZERBAIJAN: Socar confirms award of EPC contract to Maire Tecnimont for HDPE facility

Socar said it has awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Maire Tecnimont's Kinetics Technology and Tecnimont subsidiaries for a new high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant being built in the Sumgayit petrochemical complex in Baku, Azerbaijian.

Based on Ineos' Innovene S technology, the HDPE unit will have a capacity of 120,000 t/y and is part of a project that includes a 180,000-t/y polypropylene (PP) facility. The approximately USD 180-million lump sum turn-key contract involves provision of complete engineering services, equipment and materials supply, construction activities up to start-up and guarantee test run.

Maire Tecnimont's subsidiaries were awarded an EPC contract last April for the PP unit.

Socar did not confirm an expected completion date for the plants, however, earlier reports said construction had already begun on the HDPE plant and both units would be operational in 2018.

Source: Weekly “PetroChemical News”, Durham, NC, USA; 8 Feb 2016
(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)