Ineos licenses PE tech to PTT; to supply US ethane to Shell/ExxonMobil Scottish plant

Ineos Technologies has licensed its Innovene S Process for the manufacture of medium density and high density polyethylene to PTTGC America, an affiliate of PTT, Thailand’s largest petrochemical and refining company, at its new cracker complex to be located near Dilles Bottom, Ohio, US.

The Innovene S HDPE plant will consist of two lines having a total capacity of 700 kilotonnes/year, producing a wide range of polyethylene grades to serve the growing demand for high performance products in the US and export markets.

Panod Awaiwanond, General Manager of PTTGC America stated that: “PTTGC is very excited by this project based on the US Shale Gas economics. We have chosen a very dynamic location for the plant at Dilles Bottom, Ohio with a highly skilled work force and support of the local and state governments.”

In other news, Ineos has tied up with ExxonMobil and Shell to supply ethane from its US shale gas production to the Fife Ethylene Plant (FEP) at Mossmorran in Scotland, from mid 2017. FEP is owned and operated by ExxonMobil and Shell has 50% capacity rights.

The Fife plant will receive ethane from Ineos’s new import terminal in Grangemouth, Scotland. Access to this new source of feedstock will help complement supplies from North Sea natural gas fields. The agreement will also ensure the competitiveness of a major manufacturing facility in Scotland and help secure skilled jobs in the long run.

Ethane gas is a vital raw material needed to produce ethylene, which itself is used in the manufacture of a broad range of products across the UK and is exported to Europe and other world markets. Access to ethane from shale production will provide sufficient raw material to run UK steam crackers to make ethylene at full operating rates.

“This is a landmark agreement for everyone involved”, says Geir Tuft Business Director at Ineos O&P UK. “We know that ethane from US shale gas has transformed US manufacturing and we are now seeing this advantage being shared across Scotland.”

Ineos has committed £450 million to construct the new ethane import terminal at its Grangemouth facility. It represents the most significant investment in UK petrochemical manufacturing in recent times and is supported by both the UK and Scottish governments. An existing pipeline will transport the gas from Grangemouth to Fife.

The Fife Ethylene Plant is one of Europe’s largest and most modern ethylene facilities. The plant started production in 1985, and is one of only four natural gas-fed steam crackers in Europe. It was the first plant specifically designed to use natural gas liquids from the North Sea as feedstock. Alongside Ineos Grangemouth, it supplies manufacturing in Scotland, the rest of the UK and export markets with ethylene. It has an annual capacity of 830,000 tonnes of ethylene. Shell Chemicals has 50% capacity rights at the Fife Ethylene Plant.