TurkmenGaz’s Kiyanly chemical complex achieves full production rates

State-owned TurkmenGaz increased production of export-bound polymer products during January-July 2020 amid reaching full production capacity at its Kiyanly gas chemical complex in the Turkmenbashi district of Balkan Province in western Turkmenistan.

Initially commissioned in October 2018, the Kiyanly gas chemical complex—the largest in the region—during first-half 2020 ramped up production of polyethylene and polypropylene to full capacity rates of 381,000 tonnes/year and 81,000 tpy, respectively, Turkmen state media said on Aug. 27.

Full commissioning of the Kiyanly complex helped increase the country’s overall polyethylene production by 140.0% (to 1.374 million tonnes) and polypropylene by 40.5% (to 711,000 tonnes) between January-July 2020, according to data from the State Statistics Committee of Turkmenistan.

Funded by export credit agencies and built by a consortium of Toyo Engineering Corp., Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd., Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., and LG International Corp., the Kiyanly gas chemical complex originally was to use technology from Lummus Technology and W.R. Grace & Co. to produce 400,000 tpy of ethylene and high-density polyethylene, as well as 80,000 tpy of polypropylene, for export to markets mainly in the Asia Pacific, Europe, and Turkey using gas sourced from shelf of the Caspian Sea (OGJ Online, Apr. 29, 2016; Apr. 20, 2015).

The complex also was to house a planned 5-billion cu m/year gas separation unit equipped with Toyo’s Coreflux technology to enhance recovery of ethane and LPG, with BASF SE’s Oase technology to enable acid gas removal (OGJ Online, May 12, 2014).