Libya's Port Cities Key to Refining and Chemical Sectors

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As the conflict in Libya continues, uncertainty about the country's future hangs over the heads of every citizen. Just as uncertain, but in a more localized context, are the governments of Libya's cities, which seem to change almost daily. Two important cities that are coveted by both the rebels and Gadhafi's forces are Al Brega and Ras Lanuf. Both cities are strategic port cities with existing chemical, refining and storage facilities. Both the rebels and the Libyan army desire to control these two cities, because this could determine who survives the aftermath of the conflict. To control these two cities is the equivalent of owning the treasury of a kingdom, as Libya's export of chemicals and oil are what fuels the country.

Both cities are sites at which country planners have chosen to develop and expand chemical production. Since the outbreak of the civil war and the erratic changing of hands in regard to control over areas, these multi-billion dollar projects have been placed on hold.

The city of Ras Lanuf was to see more than $3 billion invested to add production units to the existing chemical complex there. Energy Cities Development Company (ECDC) (Tripoli, Libya) plans to add a 1.2-million-ton-per-year ethylene unit, as well as polyethylene and polypropylene units with undetermined production capacities. Preliminary planning is to carry on through 2013, and construction is set to begin in the fall of 2014. Production is scheduled to commence in 2017.

Al Brega will be the site of a new $6 billion complex centered on a 1.2 million-metric-ton-per-year ethylene unit. More than 10 production units are planned for the site, ranging from multiple types of polyethylene to purified terephthalic acid (PTA) to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to styrene. Construction is planned to begin in the spring of 2014, with completion set for the first half of 2017.

Fluor Daniel (Greenville, South Carolina) is performing the feasibility study for the sites. Nexant Limited (London, England) is serving as a consultant for the program.

For the citizens of Libya, a quick and peaceful ending with prosperity at the end is the best-case scenario, although current events suggest that this may not be the end that is reached. Whichever side comes to victory, Al Brega and Ras Lanuf will be key cities for the future of Libya.

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