Lummus Wins Saudi Propane Project
Alujain National Industrial has chosen Lummus Technology’s Catofin propane dehydrogenation (PDH) process for a new propylene plant to be built in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. The contract marks the first time that Alujain will license Lummus’ PDH technology at the site.
Commenting on the contract, Leon de Bruyn, president and CEO of Lummus Technology, said: “Alujain will be able to leverage the technology’s requisite reliability, low cost and reduced energy consumption to help them expand its propylene production in Saudi Arabia and achieve a competitive advantage in the market.”
The award includes the technology license and basic engineering for a 600,000 t/y propylene facility, which will provide feedstock for Alujain’s new downstream PP production.
Alujain announced on Nov. 3, 2022 that the Saudi Ministry of Energy had approved the allocation of feedstock to the project, which will produce more than 600,000 t/y of PP, PP compounds and specialized construction materials from PP derivatives.
The project will also include a grid to connect two existing processing plants run by subsidiary National Petrochemical Industrial (NatPet) with the two new production units to increase reliability and efficiency and improve the economies of the two companies, Alujain said.
Investments costs in the PDH complex are put at $2 billion and start-up is scheduled for the first half of 2026.
In separate news, Lummus has also announced this month that it has agreed to license and market an HDPE technology called Excene and owned by Texplore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Thai company SCG Chemicals.
“Licensing Texplore’s HDPE technology builds on our recent success of expanding Lummus’ comprehensive technology portfolio,” said de Bruyn. “Lummus has a long history of partnering with industry leading companies like SCGC to leverage our collective strengths and bring innovative technologies to market.”
As well as licensing Excene, Lummus will also provide engineering design for plant construction, services for plant commissioning and start up, and additional lifecycle services, while Texplore will provide its EL CAT catalyst.
Author Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
