PETROCHEMISTRY KUWAIT
Foundation laid for plastics industry / Government aid for investors / Production facilities planned for PET bottles and packaging film / Saudi Arabia sole competitor for PET
Kuwait plans to use its oil reserves for manufacturing semi-finished and finished plastics. The Industrial Bank of Kuwait has submitted ten feasibility studies to encourage domestic and foreign companies to invest in the plastics industry. In cooperation with the Ministry for Trade and Industry, the Institute recently organised an investment seminar entitled "Downstream Petrochemical Potential Industrial Investment Opportunities".
In the seminar, the project department of the Industrial Bank focused primarily on projects which use starting materials from the Equate petrochemical plant started up in the second half of 1997. Ethylene is one of the first feedstocks to be drawn from the new facility. An aromatics plant is also on the drawing board. The two companies, ABB Lummus Crest Co. and Trichem, contributed expertise to the project studies. Hassan Fayek, the bank's project consultant, described the proposed investments as "foolproof". Most of the raw materials are available locally and cheaply. Energy and water are subsidised, and the government is providing the industrial site free of charge. Unskilled Asian labor also can be employed for low wages, said Fayek.
German engineering contractors are particularly interested in bulilding the plants, for aromatic hydrocarbons, for example. Apart from this, chemical firms are considering setting up plastic production facilities of their own in the Gulf region. Downstream, too, there should also be plenty of potential for suppliers. Investors should also consider direct involvement in the projects. In addition to knowhow and engineering expertise, there is also a strong demand for experience in worldwide marketing of the end products.
Fayek confirmed that Kuwaiti entrepreneurs have so far decided to implement three of the ten studies. Already under construction are plants for PET mineral water bottles, for white and coloured master batches and for packaging. Schulman reportedly is interested in the 20,000 t/y white mixing unit. The project office is initially aiming for a capacity of 100 t/y for colored polymer blends and in a later expansion stage 500 t/y. The PET facility is to manufacture up to 8m bottles a year and will thus completely meet local demand. According to the study, the only competitor in the Arab Gulf States is a Saudi Arabian firm. Regional demand is estimated at 100m bottles.
The packaging plant will produce 5,000 t/y of LDPE film for bags and sacks, as well as 3,600 t/y of injection-moulded articles to replace imports. There are also plans to export high-grade carrier bags to Europe. Potential machinery suppliers also include German companies. Investment proposals for polystyrene, geotextiles of polypropylene, phthalic anhydride, polyester resin, cumene, phenol and acetone are still open. Polystyrene (EPS) could be used for insulation applications in the building industry and food packagings. The Industrial Bank has put forward proposals for three technologies: a suspension process for top grade (capacity: 12,000 t/y), a continuous process (100,000 t/y) or an intermittent process (10,000 t/y). The investment would be between USD 10m and 40m.
Phthalic anhydride could be sold as a raw material to the expanding plastics industry in the Gulf. With a capital of USD 40m, around 35,000 t of the aromatic intermediate product could be produced annually. The Industrial Bank calculates a capacity of 100,000 t/y cumene in facilities with a value of USD 37m. The phenol acetone plant would produce 70,000 t/y and cost USD 143m.
Contact: The Industrial Bank of Kuwait, Manager of Projects Department, Rasheed Abdul Mohsen Al-Sharhan, PO Box 31-46, Safat, 13032 Kuwait, Tel: 00965 / 2461771, Fax 2462057.
In the seminar, the project department of the Industrial Bank focused primarily on projects which use starting materials from the Equate petrochemical plant started up in the second half of 1997. Ethylene is one of the first feedstocks to be drawn from the new facility. An aromatics plant is also on the drawing board. The two companies, ABB Lummus Crest Co. and Trichem, contributed expertise to the project studies. Hassan Fayek, the bank's project consultant, described the proposed investments as "foolproof". Most of the raw materials are available locally and cheaply. Energy and water are subsidised, and the government is providing the industrial site free of charge. Unskilled Asian labor also can be employed for low wages, said Fayek.
German engineering contractors are particularly interested in bulilding the plants, for aromatic hydrocarbons, for example. Apart from this, chemical firms are considering setting up plastic production facilities of their own in the Gulf region. Downstream, too, there should also be plenty of potential for suppliers. Investors should also consider direct involvement in the projects. In addition to knowhow and engineering expertise, there is also a strong demand for experience in worldwide marketing of the end products.
Fayek confirmed that Kuwaiti entrepreneurs have so far decided to implement three of the ten studies. Already under construction are plants for PET mineral water bottles, for white and coloured master batches and for packaging. Schulman reportedly is interested in the 20,000 t/y white mixing unit. The project office is initially aiming for a capacity of 100 t/y for colored polymer blends and in a later expansion stage 500 t/y. The PET facility is to manufacture up to 8m bottles a year and will thus completely meet local demand. According to the study, the only competitor in the Arab Gulf States is a Saudi Arabian firm. Regional demand is estimated at 100m bottles.
The packaging plant will produce 5,000 t/y of LDPE film for bags and sacks, as well as 3,600 t/y of injection-moulded articles to replace imports. There are also plans to export high-grade carrier bags to Europe. Potential machinery suppliers also include German companies. Investment proposals for polystyrene, geotextiles of polypropylene, phthalic anhydride, polyester resin, cumene, phenol and acetone are still open. Polystyrene (EPS) could be used for insulation applications in the building industry and food packagings. The Industrial Bank has put forward proposals for three technologies: a suspension process for top grade (capacity: 12,000 t/y), a continuous process (100,000 t/y) or an intermittent process (10,000 t/y). The investment would be between USD 10m and 40m.
Phthalic anhydride could be sold as a raw material to the expanding plastics industry in the Gulf. With a capital of USD 40m, around 35,000 t of the aromatic intermediate product could be produced annually. The Industrial Bank calculates a capacity of 100,000 t/y cumene in facilities with a value of USD 37m. The phenol acetone plant would produce 70,000 t/y and cost USD 143m.
Contact: The Industrial Bank of Kuwait, Manager of Projects Department, Rasheed Abdul Mohsen Al-Sharhan, PO Box 31-46, Safat, 13032 Kuwait, Tel: 00965 / 2461771, Fax 2462057.
31.08.1998 Plasteurope.com [18494]
Published on 31.08.1998