US process engineering group McDermott International has been awarded a contract by Russia’s Irkutsk Oil to perform basic engineering and licensing for the company’s planned 650,000 t/y ethylene plant at Ust-Kut, Irkutsk, Russia.

The contract also encompasses detailed engineering and material supply of six Short Residence Time (SRT) pyrolysis heaters for the facility.

 Along with polymer grade ethylene from ethane and propane, the Irkutsk plant located in Siberia, close to gas fields, will additionally produce high-purity hydrogen and C5 byproducts.  Downstream facilities are also planned to include a 650,000 t/y polyethylene plant.

McDermott has not disclosed the value of its contract, but it generally defines a large contract as being worth $50-250 million.

"This contract is a significant award for us in Russia," said Daniel M. McCarthy, executive vice president of McDermott's Lummus Technology business. "The remote location and harsh winter conditions presented constraints on the target project completion date that are being minimized through careful planning of the equipment design and specification schedule."