BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jun. 24
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
The project for polyethylene production in Kazakhstan was already well-developed by the time Germany's Borealis company made the decision to discontinue the project, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy told Trend.
On May 19, 2020, German Borealis publicly announced that is suspends development of a polyethylene project in Kazakhstan.
The company said that the decision to discontinue the project is based on a thorough assessment of all aspects of the prospective venture and impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the increased uncertainty of future market assumptions.
The ministry official said that Borealis notified the ministry on its decision to suspend participation in the project on Apr. 20, 2020.
“By the time the Borealis decided against participation in the project, the issue of providing raw materials (ethane) at an attractive cost was already solved, a feasibility study and a Government Support Agreement draft were already developed,” the official said.
The ministry official said that currently the process of looking for a new strategic partner is underway.
“The new partner will be chosen taking into account three factors: availability of its own licensed technology for the production of polyethylene, possibility of self-financing and provision of a sales market (offtake contract),” the official said.
Borealis and Kazakhstan's United Chemical Company LLP (UCC) signed Joint Development Agreement in Abu Dhabi on Mar. 24, 2018.
The agreement oversaw development of a world-scale polyethylene project, integrated with an ethane cracker, in Kazakhstan.
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