Sibur plans to build production for 570,000 tonnes of polypropylene in Tobolsk

MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax) - The capacity of Sibur's new polypropylene production facility in Tobolsk will be 570,000 tonnes, company CEO, Mikhail Karisalov, said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

"Here, in Tobolsk, the DGP-2 project is already underway; 570,000 tonnes of polypropylene will be added to our country's total production volume. In 2026, I think the work will be completed, and as of 2027, Russia, and Sibur will get more capacity, and consumers will have more polypropylene," he said.

Sibur was planning to invest $2.5-3 billion in a polypropylene production project in Tobolsk, Tyumen region governor Alexander Moor said earlier.

"They planned to start this project a year ago, but due to objective circumstances, it took time to replace equipment from unfriendly countries with Russian counterparts and with equipment from our partner countries," Moor said.

Sibur submitted a project for public hearings, which involves the construction of a propane dehydrogenation plant and the production of polypropylene, taking into account the maximum use of the existing energy and raw materials infrastructure at the Tobolsk site.

The project will be implemented as part of an agreement between the company and the Russian Energy Ministry on the modernization of existing, and the creation of, new capacities. An agreement of this type allows for a reverse excise tax mechanism.

ZapSibNeftekhim LLC is the largest petrochemical complex in Russia, whose total capacity makes it possible to produce 2.5 million tonnes of basic polymers per year (1.5 million tonnes of polyethylene and 1 million tonnes of polypropylene). In 2020, the complex reached its design capacity.

The ZapSibNeftekhim site in Tobolsk receives a wide fraction of hydrocarbons (NGL) obtained after processing associated petroleum gas (APG) from oil producers and "wet" gas from gas companies. The NGL at the gas fractionation plant is separated into several products, including liquefied hydrocarbon gases (LPG). Thus, the resulting propane "is processed into propylene, and then polypropylene.