Borealis lets Belgian PDH FEED-study pact

Borealis AG, Vienna, has let a contract to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc, Dallas, to complete a front-end engineering design (FEED) study for its proposed propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant at the operator’s existing production site in Kallo, near Antwerp.

As part of the FEED study, Jacobs will deliver the basic design package for the inside and outside-battery limit areas of the planned PDH plant, the service provider said.

Jacobs, which completed a feasibility study for the proposed plant in June 2017, said it expects to complete its scope of work on the FEED phase of the project by mid-2018.

A value of the contract was not disclosed.

Borealis previously let a contract to Honeywell UOP LLC to provide licensing of its proprietary C₃ Oleflex technology, basic engineering design, as well as services, equipment, catalysts, and adsorbents for the proposed Kallo PDH plant that, once in operation, would produce a targeted 740,000 tonnes/year of on-purpose, polymer-grade propylene.

If approved, the PDH plant is tentatively scheduled for start-up during second-half 2021.

Borealis plans to reach a final investment decision on the PDH project by yearend 2018, the company said in a late-September 2017 release