RusGazDobycha’s BCC lets contract for Ust-Luga chemical complex
JSC RusGazDobycha subsidiary Baltic Chemical Complex LLC (BCC), through its contractor, has let a contract to Lummus Technology LLC to provide engineering and equipment for BCC’s $13-billion ethane cracking project under construction on the Gulf of Finland near Ust-Luga, in Russia’s Leningrad region (OGJ Online, June 10, 2020; Apr. 2, 2019).
As part of the contract—awarded directly by project contractor China National Chemical Engineering & Construction Corporation Seven Ltd. (CC7)—Lummus will deliver engineering design and supply of 14 of its proprietary Short Residence Time (SRT) VI cracking furnaces for the complex’s two ethylene crackers that, combined, will produce up to 3 million tonnes/year of ethylene product, RusGazDobycha and Lummus said in separate releases on Nov. 2.
Selection of Lummus’ SRT VI cracking furnaces comes as part of BCC’s plan to implement the most advanced, efficient, and ecofriendly process solutions available, according to Konstantin Makhov, BCC’s general director.
“The benefits offered by Lummus Technology include significant reduction in the output of by-products and specific consumption of utilities. The process also offers feedstock flexibility as it is possible to feed of up to 10% propane in case of [an] ethane shortage," Makhov said, adding that the development team currently is in the process of purchasing long-lead equipment for the project.
This latest contract—the value of which was not disclosed—follows a previous award to Lummus in November 2019 for delivery of the process design package on BCC’s ethane cracking unit (OGJ Online, Nov. 18, 2019).
BCC most recently let a contract to PESCO Switzerland AG to provide project management services for early works, long-lead item (LLI) procurement, and supply for the complex, as well as a contract to Axens Group of France license its AlphaButol technology for production of high-purity 1-butene by ethylene dimerization and its AlphaHexol technology for production of high-purity 1-hexene through ethylene trimerization (OGJ Online, Oct. 6, 2020; Sept. 18, 2020).
First announced in 2019 and slated to become the largest ethylene integration project in the world once completed, the natural gas processing chemical plant will include two ethylene cracking sites—each with a capacity of 1.4 million tpy—six polyethylene trains with a combined processing capacity of 480,000 tpy, and two linear alpha olefin plants with a combined capacity of 137,000 tpy.
Construction work on the integrated complex—which will process ethane-containing gas from PJSC Gazprom’s production fields—currently is proceeding according to schedule, RusGazDobycha said in September.
The complex is due to be completed in two phases, with Phase 1 commissioning planned for fourth-quarter 2023 and Phase 2 startup to follow in fourth-quarter 2024.
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.
