Emerson's Fisher Control Valves to be Installed at Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Plant

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Emerson Electric Company (NYSE:EMR) (St. Louis, Missouri) recently secured an order for the installation of its sophisticated Fisher control valves at the world's largest integrated petrochemical plant, which is being set up by Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company (SAU:2350) (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) in Al Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia. Emerson will supply the plant with Fisher digital control valves. The 1050 Fisher antisurge valve, the largest ever built with a nominal diameter of 42 inches, is also included in the order list.

The use of high performance valves such as the Fisher digital valves in critical applications of the plant will enhance profitability. The valves enable plant processes to be monitored on a predictive mode. This allows plant operators to effectively address problems before the issues can affect the performance of the plant. The 1050 Fisher antisurge valve will be used to provide surge protection in the first stage of the cracked gas compressor. The use of this 11,000-kilogram valve, built with Fisher optimized technology, will enable plant commissioning to proceed smoothly.

The antisurge valves have a cushioned actuator, a packing of high-seal graphite that eliminates fugitive emissions, the Whisper III trim that reduces vibration and noise, a Fisher FIELDVUE DVC6000 Series-PD instrument, and Optimized Digital Valve (ODV) technology to provide high resolution, minimal overshoot and fast stoking with controlled deceleration. The order includes 12 valves of different sizes with ODV technology.

The valves with the FIELDVUE digital valve controllers are the main components of the digital plant architecture. They network process automation instrumentation and systems, enabling maintenance that is driven by predictive technology as well as ensuring efficient operations. The valves will be supplied by Emerson Process Management (Marshalltown, Iowa), a group company of Emerson.

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company is a joint venture between Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SAU:2010) (SABIC) (Riyadh) and Al Kayan Petrochemical Company (Riyadh). SABIC has a 35% stake in the company, while Al Kayan has a 20% stake. Saudi shareholders hold the remaining 45%.

The $10 billion petrochemical plant is scheduled to be operational from the third quarter of 2010. In May 2008, Saudi Kayan signed a $6-billion financial agreement for 15 years with a group of several financial institutions and banks. The package includes international, regional, local, export, and Islamic credit agency debt. The lead arrangers of the debt package are ABN AMRO Bank NV (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Arab Banking Corporation BSC (BSH:ABC) (Manama, Bahrain), BNP Paribas SA (EPA:BNP) (Paris, France), HSBC Bank plc (NYSE:HBC) (London, England), and Samba Financial Group (SAU:1090) (Riyadh).

The plant is being set up to produce more than 4 million tons per year of chemical and petrochemical products. The ethylene production capacity of the petrochemical unit will be 1.35 million tons per year. KBR Incorporated (NYSE:KBR) (Houston, Texas) is setting up the ethylene plant based on its Selective Cracking Optimum Recovery (SCORE) technology. Certain specialized chemicals will be manufactured in Saudi Arabia for the first time through this project. These include aminomethyls, aminoethanols, choline chloride, dimethylformamide, dimethylethanolamine, dimethylethanol, phenol, bisphenol-a, cumene, ethoxylates and polycarbonates.

The complex has been divided into several units, most of which are scheduled to be ready by the end of this year. These include a polypropylene plant, a polyethylene plant, a polycarbonates unit, an integrated phenolics plant, an ethylene glycol unit, an ethane/butane catalytic cracking unit with benzene extraction facilities and an amines unit.

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