The project, dubbed Project One, comprises an ethane cracker producing 1.5 million t/y ethylene, which Ineos said will have the lowest carbon footprint in Europe – less than half of that of the region’s 10% best performers.

Effective immediately, Wood’s four-year contract is focused on the outside battery limit facilities for the cracker and follows the successful completion of front-end engineering design. Wood’s integrated project management team will also continue to oversee the project, working closely with Ineos.

Giuseppe Zuccaro, president of process & chemicals at Wood, said: “The chemicals sector, like all industries, is forging its own path to carbon neutrality. What Project One represents is the next era of ethylene production, a key component in most plastics. Through the combination of technology and an innovative technical design approach, it will be the most sustainable and energy-efficient steam cracker in Europe.”

At its peak, Wood is expected to employ around 300 people on the project across its centers in Reading, UK, and Milan, Italy, plus its global engineering center in India, as well as at the Antwerp site during construction.

In June, the Flemish environment ministry granted the project’s environmental permit, paving the way for construction to start. The complex is scheduled to start up in 2026.

Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas announced in May that it had also won a contract from Ineos to provide project management, engineering, procurement and construction management and supervision services for the Antwerp cracker.

New Zealand hydrogen project

Separately, Wood announced it has been chosen – along with Beca and Arup – as a technical advisor for the initial development stages of a green hydrogen project in Southland, New Zealand.

The plant is a joint undertaking between New Zealand energy firms Meridian Energy and Contact Energy. Wood said it presents a substantial export opportunity that could potentially place New Zealand as a world leader in the emerging green hydrogen economy.

Working closely with the other consultants on the Southern Green Hydrogen project, Wood will identify the associated opportunities and risks and provide technical solutions.

Josh Carmichael, Wood’s vice president of hydrogen, commented: “Wood’s technical advisory services will support the technical and commercial baseline work by Southern Green Hydrogen that provides the foundation and framework to accelerate the New Zealand market transition to hydrogen and low emission energy products.”

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist