21.07.2016

Metathesis project approved for execution

The annual propylene output of PKN ORLEN’s Production Plant in Płock will be increased by 100 thousand tonnes, as one of its key petrochemical projects has been approved by the Management and Supervisory Boards and is entering the execution stage. The project will increase the Płock Plant’s propylene production to 550 thousand tonnes per year.

The Metathesis Unit built at the Płock Production Plant will deliver polymer grade propylene. The Plant’s current nominal production capacity is 450 thousand tonnes of propylene, and the project will increase it to 550 thousand tonnes per year. The project execution cost is approximately PLN 400m.

“Our objective is to effectively diversify revenue sources and strengthen the efficiency of the ORLEN Group’s Downstream Segment. We want to maximise capacity utilisation in Poland and the Czech Republic, and push for greater integration between petrochemical and refining areas, which will give us flexibility required to respond to market changes in demand for fuels and petrochemicals. We will focus on products with a broad range of applications in the plastics industry, because the industry’s purchasing power is growing and its medium-term prospects point to a steadily upward trend,” emphasises Wojciech Jasiński, President of the Management Board of PKN ORLEN.

The Metathesis Unit will be built under a licence purchased from Lummus Technology Inc., a company of the CB&I group, specialising in a wide range of energy infrastructure solutions. Under the agreement, the contractor will also provide technical and engineering consulting services.

The current strategy up to 2017 provides for the ORLEN Group’s capital expenditure on key petrochemical projects of PLN 1.6bn.