Shell lets contract for upgrade of Moerdijk ethylene complex
Royal Dutch Shell PLC has let a contract to TechnipFMC PLC to provide engineering, procurement, and module fabrication (EPF) for proprietary equipment and related services for eight ethylene furnaces at Shell Nederland Chemie BV’s 971,000-tonnes/year Moerdijk petrochemicals complex in the Netherlands.
Based on TechnipFMC’s multi-lane radiant coil design, the new steam cracker furnaces will replace 16 older units to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the complex without reducing capacity at the complex, the service provider said on Sept. 30.
The furnaces will be shipped to the site in modules, enabling the cracker to maintain continuous operation throughout the upgrading project, according to TechnipFMC.
The new steam cracker furnaces are anticipated to reduce the Moerdijk complex’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by about 10%.
TechnipFMC—which did not disclose a timeframe for its work on the project—valued the EPF contract at between $75-250 million.
Shell’s investment in the furnace revamp at Moerdijk comes as part of the operator’s ambition to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner, said Thomas Casparie, executive vice-president of Shell’s global chemicals business, on Sept. 4.
Shell said it expects work on the Moerdijk upgrading project to be completed in 2025.
A video of the proposed project was included as part of a Sept. 4 press kit.
Robert Brelsford | Downstream Editor
Robert Brelsford joined Oil & Gas Journal in October 2013 as downstream technology editor after 8 years as a crude oil price and news reporter on spot crude transactions at the US Gulf Coast, West Coast, Canadian, and Latin American markets. He holds a BA (2000) in English from Rice University and an MS (2003) in education and social policy from Northwestern University.
