The Ta’ziz petrochemicals complex planned for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be bigger than originally intended, according to those participating in the project.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc, Abu Dhabi; www.adnoc.ae) and the country’s state-run investment firm ADQ (Abu Dhabi; www.adq.ae) have announced their intention to build the facility near the large Borouge petrochemical complex (see Plasteurope.com of 10.12.2021), and an updated proposal now calls for a world-scale cracker with downstream polymerisation units. Adnoc said the change more than doubles capacity for chemical products from the previous plan.

The project is currently undergoing a feasibility check and is due to advance to the design stage in Q1 2023.

The initial part of the project has reportedly been making good progress. The two partners in the construction of the production units for EDC, chlorine and PVC, India-based Reliance Industries (RIL, Mumbai, Maharashtra; www.ril.com) and local firm Shaheen Chem Investment (www.shaheenchem.ae), have signed agreements to set up a joint venture to operate the plants, the construction of which is likely to cost more than USD 2 bn (EUR 2 bn). The final investment decision has not yet been made and is expected to come before the end of 2023.

Furthermore, Japanese group Mitsui (Tokyo; www.mitsui.com), Dutch fertiliser manufacturer Fertiglobe, and South Korea’s GS Energy are planning to jointly build a world-scale ammonia production facility at the site. This is expected to raise the total investment sum for the first expansion phase to more than USD 5 bn.