McDermott to undertake off-gas upgrade for Slovnaft’s ethylene unit
Engineering firm McDermott says it has been awarded an engineering, procurement services and construction management (EPsCm) contract from Slovnaft for the steam cracker intensification off-gas processing project at its plant in Bratislava, Slovakia.
The project will upgrade the existing steam cracker’s 220,000 tonnes/year nameplate ethylene capacity unit by adding a low-pressure recovery unit, increasing ethylene production capacity utilising the off-gas from the existing production.
McDermott will provide comprehensive EPsCm services and leverage its strategic agreement with Lummus Technology, the licensor of the steam cracker unit.
“McDermott has a long-standing relationship with Slovnaft, dating back to 2003. This award is testament to our prior performance and the confidence Slovnaft has in us,” said Vaseem Khan, Senior Vice President, Onshore. “Our work with Lummus Technology since the basic design and engineering package phase of the project built our intricate knowledge and understanding of the unit. This project is an excellent example of how, through our strategic agreement with Lummus, we deliver technology solutions through the entire plant life cycle.”
The Slovnaft refinery is said to be one of the most modern refineries in Europe. In addition to oil processing and fuel production, it also produces basic plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene. The ethylene unit is key to the company’s petrochemical section. It has processing capacity of 5.5 – 6 million tonnes of crude oil/year.
Work on the project will be delivered from McDermott’s centre for downstream engineering in Brno, Czech Republic.
