SEPC lets contract for Al-Jubail ethylene cracker expansion project

Saudi Ethylene and Polyethylene Co. (SEPC), a joint venture of Tasnee Sahara Olefins Co. (TSOC; 75%) and Basell Moyen Orient Investments SAS (25%), has let a contract to Lummus Technology LLC to provide new ethylene heaters for a proposed cracker expansion project at the operator’s petrochemical production complex in Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

As part of the Jan. 11 contract, Lummus will design and supply of two of its proprietary Short Residence Time (SRT) pyrolysis cracking heaters that will increase ethylene production from the complex’s cracker, as well as improve operational reliability and energy efficiency while minimizing emissions at the site, the service provider said.

Lummus, however, did not reveal a value of the contract.

This latest award for the project follows the operator’s initial confirmation of the cracker expansion in late 2023, when SEPC let a $500-million contract to South Korea-based SGC eTEC E&C Co. Ltd. for delivery of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) on the planned work that aims to increase the ethylene cracker plant’s olefins production by 18%, according to a Dec. 24, 2023, release from National Industrialization Co. (Tasnee), which holds interests of 45.34% and 60.45% in SEPC and TSOC, respectively.

SEPC’s ethylene cracker plant expansion project is scheduled for completion and start of expanded production during first-half 2026, Tasnee said.

SEPC’s Al-Jubail petrochemical complex currently consists of a cracker producing 1 million tonnes/year (tpy) of ethylene and 285,000 tpy of propylene, as well as separate plants for production of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE), each with a production capacity of 400,000 tpy, according to Tasnee’s website.