UAE-based Borouge, a leading petrochemical company that provides innovative, value-creating, polyolefin solutions, has announced the successful start-up of its new fifth polypropylene unit (PP5) in Ruwais, UAE. Founded in 1998, Borouge is a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Austrian company Borealis.
The new unit, which began operations by the end of 2021, expands Borouge’s polypropylene (PP) capacity by more than 25% to meet the growing global demand for products in sectors including advanced packaging, agriculture, and infrastructure.
Hazeem Sultan Al Suwaidi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Polymers Co. Ltd., one of the two complementary ventures of Borouge, says, “This project constitutes an advanced step in Borouge’s developmental path as part of the strategy to develop the Ruwais area into a vital global centre for the refining and petrochemical industries, which in turn will contribute to strengthening the manufacturing sector in the UAE and supporting diversification and economics in the long run. The new fifth unit of polypropylene production will meet the growing needs of our customers for innovative solutions from Borouge, especially in the packaging and infrastructure sectors across our key markets in the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Africa.”
The fifth production unit that was built within the Borouge 3 plant is a major milestone in Borouge’s 2030 growth strategy. The production capacity of the new unit will be about 4,80,000 tons per year and will contribute to increasing the production of polypropylene by more than 25% to reach 2.24 million tons per year. It will also raise the company’s total polymer capacity of polyolefins by 11% to reach 5 million tons per year from 4.5 million tons previously. The new facility will have an annual capacity to produce raw materials to manufacture enough pipes to install water supply networks for the equivalent of 6,500 buildings the size of Burj Khalifa. The start of PP5’s operations follows soon after the announcement of the Final Investment Decision for the worldscale Borouge 4 expansion which makes Borouge’s Abu Dhabi manufacturing facilities the world’s largest single-site polyolefin complex.
Rainer Hoefling, CEO of Singapore-based Borouge Pte. Ltd., the second complementary venture of Borouge, says, “We work closely with our customers and value chain partners to achieve their goals, aspirations, and commitments to embrace the circular economy in their organizations through several initiatives that include the development and production of mono-material solutions for packaging that are designed to be recyclable. We will be able to provide our customers with solutions that achieve significant cost savings by leveraging our advanced Borstar technology to deliver unparalleled cycle time improvements, reduced warpage, and energy efficiency.”
The demand for polypropylene products is expected to rise over the next few decades as a versatile and easily recyclable material. The new production unit will enhance Borouge’s products with innovative, sustainable, and diversified solutions to meet the growing demand. Customers and value-chain partners use polypropylene to manufacture durable, lightweight, and durable recyclable packaging and tubing for infrastructure applications.
The project of setting up PP5 unit for polypropylene production was successfully able to achieve a local added value support of more than 60%, by using local supply sources from Emirati companies and relying on ‘Make it in the Emirates’ products. All metal structures, piping systems, and accessories were manufactured indigenously with 30% of the total installed equipment under the ‘Make it in the Emirates’ campaign, while all secondary contracting services were outsourced to local companies in the UAE market.
Borouge plays a pivotal role in supporting the ‘Make it in the Emirates’ strategy by contributing to achieve sustainable economic development in the UAE, and discovering new business opportunities to encourage the adoption of the strategy.
‘Make it in the Emirates’ is an open invitation to investors, innovators, and developers to contribute to the UAE’s industry and advanced technology strategy ‘Operation 300bn.’ The comprehensive 10-year industrial strategy is led by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technologies (MoIAT) in partnership with the Emirates Development Bank (EDB).
