Kazanorgsintez asking Minnikhanov to back project for delivery of additional ethane by Gazprom

KAZAN. Feb 17 (Interfax) - Airat Safin, General Director of Kazanorgsintez PJSC (a part of SIBUR), has appealed to head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov on behalf of the company to secure support for increasing ethane production capacity at Gazprom's Orenburg helium plant.

"Rustam Nurgaliyevich, I ask that you support the project to increase ethane production capacity in Orenburg and its transportation to Tatarstan as part of cooperation with Gazprom," Safin said.

Kazanorgsintez has the potential to increase processing of the ethane fraction, which is supplied from Gazprom's helium plant in Orenburg via the Gazprom Transgaz Kazan ethane pipeline, Safin said.

"We have opportunities to increase processing of this type of feedstock by 40% provided a new ethane block with a capacity of up to 350,000 tonnes is built at the Orenburg helium plant. This is a potential point of growth for us. The implementation of this project will increase production volumes and, consequently, tax payments to budgets of all levels," Safin said.

Kazanorgsintez's incorporation into SIBUR has helped address raw materials issues and rebalance the company's feedstock basket. At present, Kazanorgsintez is being provided with a stable supply of liquefied hydrocarbon gases from other SIBUR plants, he said.

It was reported earlier that before the acquisition by SIBUR, Kazanorgsintez began switching some of its facilities to propane feedstock due to the shortage of ethane, the main feedstock, production of which is limited in Russia.