Polimery Police set to come on stream soon. The first delivery of propane to the new gas terminal is in progress in Police, Poland

On Thursday, December 22nd, the Guadalupe Explorer gas tanker delivered the first 22,000 tonnes of propane, which will be loaded into propane tanks of the Offshore Gas Terminal built as part of the Polimery Police investment project, to be then used to start up the propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene production units. The delivery is being made under a USD 250m propane purchase agreement with Trafigura PTE Ltd. The agreement satisfies more than 50% of Grupa Azoty Polyolefins’ demand for propane in 2023-2024.

The event held to mark the first propane delivery was attended by Szczecin Province Governor Zbigniew Bogucki, President of the Grupa Azoty S.A. Management Board Tomasz Hinc, Vice Presidents of Grupa Azoty S.A. Management Board Mariusz Grab, Grzegorz Kądzielawski and Filip Grzegorczyk, and President of the Grupa Azoty Polyolefins Management Board Andrzej Niewiński.

The aim of the Polimery Police project, carried out by Grupa Azoty Polyolefins S.A., is to build an integrated chemical complex comprising a propylene unit, a polypropylene unit, a handling and storage terminal, logistics infrastructure and auxiliary units. The terminal will enable the delivery of two key raw materials for the investment project: propane and ethylene. Three tanks have been built at the Police gas terminal: two for propane, with a capacity of 40,000 cubic metres each, and one for ethylene, with a capacity of 12,000 cubic metres.

“The propane delivery confirms that the construction of the new Polimery Police plant is entering the final phase. The overall progress of the work already exceeds 98%, and the transshipment of propane into the tank situated in the new terminal in Police should be regarded as marking the beginning of the process to complete the construction of the new chemical complex. This means that next year will put in operation an investment project which will place the Grupa Azoty Group and Poland among the European leaders in the production of polypropylene and among the largest polypropylene producers in Central and Eastern Europe,” says Tomasz Hinc, President of the Grupa Azoty S.A. Management Board.

Propane and ethylene will be stored in cryogenic tanks in a liquid state, at near atmospheric pressure and boiling temperatures of -42 °C (propane) and -104 °C (ethylene). The tanks have double walls, which means that inside the outer tank there is an inner tank to hold the liquid. The space between the walls is filled with perlite, an insulation material. The bottom plates of the tanks will be heated, so the ground under the tanks will not be subject to freezing due to the low temperature of the liquid, or to warping.

The Guadalupe Explorer is a modern vessel designed to carry liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The ship, built in 2022 at a South Korean shipyard, is 189 meters long and 28 meters wide, and its draught is 10.5 meters. It is one of the largest vessels of its kind calling at the Szczecin-Świnoujście port complex. Its entry into the Police Seaport was made possible following the deepening of the Szczecin-Świnoujście waterway to 12.5 meters.