Spherizone Technology Leads Basell Projects in Mexico and Thailand

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Pursuing a strategy of joint ventures in the petrochemical sector, Basell (Hoofddorp, Netherlands) has contracted to supply Spherizone, a multi-zone reactor technology, for major polypropylene projects in Mexico and Thailand.

Mexico’s Indelpro, a joint venture company between Alpek, the petrochemical arm of ALFA, the Mexican industrial company, and Basell Polyolefins (formerly Montell), will use Basell’s technology in a new state-of-the-art plant at Altamira Tamaulipas to produce polypropylene from monomer gas. This will be the second production line adding to the existing polypropylene production capacity at Altamira of 240,000 tons per annum.

ICA Fluor, jointly owned by Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) (Irving, Texas) and Empresa ICA Sociedad Controladora (NYSE:ICA) (Mexico), has won the lump sum $108 million contract for detailed engineering, construction, procurement and pre-commissioning services for the new second line and for the revamping of the existing propylene splitter. Completion date for the project is December 2007.

In Thailand, HMC Polymers Company (Bangkok) is building a new 300,000 tpa polypropylene plant at Map Ta Phut and will also build an associated propane plant to supply the required gas feedstock. Basell’s Spherizone technology has been selected for the production plant. Both plants are scheduled for completion in 2009. HMC currently operates two polypropylene plants at Map Ta Phut with a combined annual capacity of 450,000 tons. These plants use Basell’s Spheripol technology.

Basell will remain a major shareholder in HMC after PTT, Thailand’s national natural resources company, acquires 40% of the company in August. Ian Dunn, president of Basell International said, “These transactions will put HMC in a leading regional position – with strong local partners, increased upstream integration and state-of-the-art process technology, to meet the growing needs of customers in Thailand and the Asia Pacific region.”

Just Janz, president of Basell’s Technology Business said that the Spherizone process, with its ability to manipulate and customize molecular structures, can manufacture products with new combinations of properties, enhancing performance in existing applications while creating opportunities for polypropylene to expand into new and end uses. He added, “With over 100 process licenses sold to date, Basell is the world’s leading licensor of polypropylene technology. The new HMC plant will be the sixth to be built with Spherizone technology and the second in Asia.”

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