Vienna-based polyolefins and fertilizer giant Borealis has announced plans to invest €160 million to upgrade and revamp four cracker furnaces at Stenungsund, Sweden, to meet the highest currently available standards in process safety and energy efficiency.

Scheduled to begin in late 2016 and be completed by 2020, the upgrade entails revamping four of the six existing furnaces and permanently shuttering the two remaining older units.

The latest plans build on an announcement by the company last year that it would upgrade the cracker and construct an ethane storage tank to store ethane imports.

In early 2014, Borealis signed a new long-term ethane supply agreement with Norway’s Statoil. The plastics feedstock will be shipped to Stenungsund from Statoil’s gas plant in Kårstø, Norway.

"Our Stenungsund cracker operations are a key strategic asset and major contributor to our success," said Borealis CEO Mark Garrett. “This investment program is especially beneficial, enabling us to secure improved reliability and operability while reducing plant complexity and maintenance requirements, he added.