The Czech Prime Minister and other officials have broken ground on the construction of a new polyethylene unit in the Czech Republic. The unit, which is the largest investment in the country's petrochemical industry, will be among the most advanced facilities of its kind in Europe. Once operational in mid-2018, it will increase the use of the Steam Cracker and enable Unipetrol to reach more industrial sectors. The unit will have a production capacity of up to 270kt and will require 800 workers during certain phases of construction. The project is being carried out by Technip Company.
Today, the Czech Prime Minister, Mr. Bohuslav Sobotka, Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr. Jan Mládek, PKN ORLEN’s CEO Wojciech Jasiński and Unipetrol’s CEO Marek Świtajewski, joined other distinguished guests to officially break ground on the new polyethylene unit (PE3) construction. It is the largest investment in the history of the Czech petrochemical industry in the amount of 8.5 billion crowns. Once put into operation, the unit will be among the most advanced production facilities of its kind in Europe. Inauguration of the new polyethylene unit is planned in mid-2018.
„This investment is an important project in terms of the development of the Czech chemical industry and with its long tradition in the country creates a large part of the local industrial production. The new polyethylene unit will push Unipetrol into the group of European leaders in terms of plastic production quality and enable the company to reach more industrial sectors, “ said Marek Świtajewski, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Unipetrol. „It is also a clear confirmation of our commitment to the strategic development on the Czech market and of production modernization in the Ústí region where we are among the largest employers.
In the future the new polyethylene unit will help to increase the use of the Steam Cracker and will contribute to greater coherence of petrochemical and refining production of Unipetrol Group. It will also enable to react to the growing global demand for high-density polyethylene. Thanks to the new technology the company will be able to reach other industrial segments, such as cosmetics and packing industry. The new polyethylene unit PE3 will have a production capacity of up to 270kt.
Construction works on the new polyethylene unit should be completed in mid-2018. Up to 800 workers will be on site during certain phases of the construction.
Basic technical parameters of the construction:
- A total of 2 000 000 hours will be worked
- Roughly 22 000 cubic meters of concrete will be consumed
- 4 000 tons of steel will be needed
- 750 km of instrument and electric cables will be used.
The new polyethylene unit will be built on the basis of the technology license by INEOS which Unipetrol acquired at the end of 2013. The main contractor is Technip Company.