French oil, gas and chemicals group Total and Algerian energy company Sonatrach have signed an agreement to start engineering studies for a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and PP complex. The agreement is part of a comprehensive partnership between the two companies that was announced in April 2017.

Front end engineering and design (FEED) work is scheduled to begin this summer, subject to approval by the relevant Algerian authorities.

The project at Arzew, Algeria, will have a PP capacity of 550,000 t/y, with output primarily destined to meet demand locally and in the Mediterranean area. Total said it would be responsible for commercializing the rest of the plant’s production in Europe. A start-up date for the complex was not disclosed.

“This project in Algeria illustrates our petrochemical growth strategy which consists of expanding our activities from competitively advantaged feedstock, especially derived from gas, to take advantage of the growing global plastics demand. This polypropylene project complements our other projects announced recently in the US, in the Middle-East and in Asia, which are primarily focused on polyethylene” said Total’s chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné.

Investment costs in the project will total around $1.4 billion, with Sonatrach paying 51% and Total 49%.