Construction of polyethylene plant underway in Kazakhstan's Atyrau region
ASTANA. Sept 11 (Interfax) - Construction of a polyethylene plant has begun in the Atyrau region, west Kazakhstan, National Company KazMunayGas (KMG) said in a press release.
Construction is slated to be completed in 2029. According to earlier reports, the construction was to be finished in 2028.
The ground breaking ceremony was attended by governor of the Atyrau region Serik Shapkenov, KMG CEO Askhat Khasenov, deputy energy minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov, deputy minister of industry and construction Olzhas Saparbekov, executive director Russia's SIBUR Sergey Komyshan and vice president of China's Sinopec Overseas Investment Holding Zhao Tiezhu.
In November 2022, the state fund Samruk-Kazyna, KazMunayGas, SIBUR Holding, and the operators of the polypropylene and polyethylene projects signed key documents to establish joint ventures with Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries and LLP Sileno. These documents outlined the terms of the partnership, including investment and product commercialization.
In May 2023, China's Sinopec joined the project as a full partner, officially becoming a co-founder in April 2024. By early July 2024, during the 7th Kazakhstan-China Business Council meeting, KMG, SIBUR, and Sinopec signed a protocol to finalize the investment budget.
In early July 2024, within the framework of the 7th meeting of the Kazakh-Chinese Business Council, held on the eve of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, KMG, SIBUR and Sinopec signed a protocol on the polyethylene project, confirming their intention to reach agreement on the final investment budget and to ensure a highest possible level of local content in the design work and procurement of equipment and materials.
By mid-July 2024, the polyethylene project had reached the final stage of the front-end engineering design phase.
The project is owned by KazMunayGas - 40%, SIBUR - 30%, and Sinopec - 30%. The estimated cost of the project is $7.7 billion, the financing is expected to be provided by the stakeholders and to come from funds that will be borrowed from international banks.