Petro Rabigh starts up ethane cracker

Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. has started up a new ethane cracker in its newly-constructed mega Refining and Petrochemical Complex in Rabigh, on the western coast of Saudi Arabia, bordering the Red Sea. The unit, which has a capacity of 1.3 million tons per year (tpy), will provide ethylene feedstock to company’s petrochemical plants, including the production of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and monoethylene glycol (MEG). The company’s new refining facilities, such as the vacuum distillation unit and vacuum gasoil hydrotreater, have also been put in operation in preparation for the startup of the complex’s high olefin fluidized catalytic cracking unit (HOFCC), which will process hydro-treated vaccum gas oil (VGO) at a capacity of 92,000 barrels per day (bpd) to produce 900,000 tpy of propylene and 59,000 bpd of gasoline. The HOFCC will supply propylene to the complex’s petrochemical derivative units, which will manufacture propylene oxide, which will be produced for the first time in Saudi Arabia. (April 15, 2009)