A consortium led by KazMunayGas, Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas company, has awarded the development of a steam cracker to a joint venture formed by the Chinese group Sinopec and the Spanish company Técnicas Reunidas. The Sinopec group will provide financial support for its execution.

The award of this contract is included within the framework of the strategic agreement subscribed by Sinopec and Técnicas Reunidas last September. The first result of that agreement was the award of two large gas fractionation facilities in Riyas (Saudi Arabia) last January.

The investment required for the development of the unit will amount to around 2.3 billion euros, of which 50% will correspond to each of the joint venture partners.

According to present estimation, the works will last until the end of 2028. The US company Lummus Technologies, which recently announced its participation in the project, has been selected by Sinopec and Técnicas Reunidas as the technology licensor.

The unit, a steam cracker, which is the heart of any petrochemical complex, will be installed in the one that the consortium led by KazMunayGas is developing in the province of Atirau, in the western part of the country, on the Caspian Sea coast.

The unit will use the gas from Kazakhstan’s fields to generate petrochemicals. It will contribute to the production of some 1,300 kilotonnes per year (kta) of ethylene.