BASF Petronas Completes New Malaysian BDO Complex

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). BASF Petronas Chemicals Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between BASF Group (Ludwigshafen, Germany) and Petronas (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) has completed construction on a new butanediol (BDO) complex in the Gebeng Industrial Zone of Kuantan, Malaysia. The site will produce 100,000 metric tons a year of BDO, as well as tetrahydrofuran and G-butyrolactone and will be marketed and sold to customers in the region.

The BDO plant, which cost well over $100 million, was part of the third and final stage of development for the site that carried an overall price tag of approximately $900 million to design, construct, and install the process and supporting equipment. Kvaerner E&C (London, England) was awarded the EPC contract for the BDO unit and utilized their international offices in England, Malaysia, India, and China for the project. Kvaerner's Process Technology Mark II was implemented for the production of the BDO and Huntsman LLC (Salt Lake City, Utah) supplied the technology for the maleic anhydride feedstock. Siemens Electrical Engineering was contracted to provide the E&I requirements for the complex.