Honeywell Wins Oleflex Contracts in Turkey, China

Honeywell has announced it is supplying its Oleflex propylene technology to two separate projects in Turkey and China.

The first contract is for Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim’s proposed propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and PP complex in Ceyhan, Turkey.

Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim is a joint venture between Algerian energy group Sonatrach and Turkish construction and investment group Ronesans Holding.

Under the terms of the contract, Honeywell UOP will provide the technology license and customized basic engineering design, services, equipment, catalysts and adsorbents. The plant, which will produce 457,000 t/y of polymer-grade propylene, will be Turkey’s first PDH facility and will feed a PP plant of about 450,000 t/y, which is due to begin production in 2023.

Once operational, the complex will reduce Turkey’s PP imports by an estimated 25% and also offset roughly $13 billion in imported petrochemicals – a third of Turkey’s manufacturing foreign trade deficit.

According to Honeywell, Turkey imported more than 2 million t of PP in 2017. The country is dependent on imports from the Middle East and Western Europe. Demand for PP in Turkey is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 2.5% over the next 10 years.

Sonatrach is also building its own Oleflex plant at Arzew, Algeria, in partnership with French group Total. Front end engineering and design work on the PDH/PP complex was scheduled to begin in summer 2019. A start-up date has not been disclosed.

The China project is for Zibo Qixiang Tengda Chemical, which will use Honeywell’s technology to expand propylene output in response to growing demand for propylene oxide, a key feedstock for making polyurethane (PU).

Honeywell said there is increasing demand for PU foam from the automotive, building and construction, textiles and furnishing industries.

The unit will be the second Oleflex plant for the Chinese company, which is located in Zibo, Shandong province. The companies have not provided capacity figures or an anticipated start-up date for the project.