OREANDA-NEWS. February 18, 2014. Zhejiang Hengyi Petrochemicals (Zhejiang Hengyi) will construct an integrated refinery and aromatics complex at Pulau Muara Besar, Brunei. The approval for the complex was granted in February 2013, as per chemicals-technology.com.

The company had signed a land lease agreement for the project with the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) in April 2012. The front end engineering and design (FEED) of the project is being undertaken by Sinopec Engineering. The design and engineering plans for the project are expected to be completed by mid-2013, after which construction will commence. The plant site will cover an area of about 260 hectares. UOP Honeywell has been awarded the contract to provide aromatics production technologies for the new plant.

The project will be implemented in two phases, with the first phase scheduled for completion in 2015. The first phase of the project will enable the complex to produce 135,000 bpd of crude and condensates, 1.5 mln tpa of diesel, 400,000 tpa of gasoline, 1 mtpa of jet A-fuel, 1.5 mtpa of naphtha cracker, 1.5 mtpa of paraxylene and 500,000 tpa of benzene. The second phase of the project will involve the expansion of the refinery to introduce new units for the production of olefins. It will add new units to produce 1 mln tpa of paraxylene and 2 mln tpa of mono ethylene glycol (MEG).

Construction works for the project will include the installation of an atmospheric and vacuum distillation unit with a capacity of 8 mln tpa, a hydrocracking unit with a capacity of a 2.2 mln tpa, an aromatic complex unit with a capacity of 1.5 mln tpa, a diesel hydrogenation unit with a capacity of 1.5 mln tpa and a kerosene hydrogenation unit with a capacity of 1 mln tpa. Other project activities will involve the construction of docks, a tank field, a power station and a sea water desalination facility.

Crude oil, which will be used as feedstock, will be obtained from a number of sources. One third of the supply is expected to come from Brunei, one third will be imported from Qatar and the other third will come from other sources. Supply of about 2.75 mln tpa of crude oil for the project and purchase of the refinery products from the complex will be handled by Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP), Brunei Shell Marketing and Zhejiang Hengyi for a period of 15 years under a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between them.

Construction of the complex is expected to require an investment of USD 4.32 bln. Zhejiang Hengyi will spend USD1.5 bln from its own fund sources, while the remaining USD 2.82 bln will be obtained through bank loans.