08-11-2013

INEOS Oxide opens one million tonne deep-sea ethylene terminal

The Minister-President of Flanders, Kris Peeters, has officially opened the one million tonne, deep-sea ethylene terminal at the INEOS Oxide facility located close to Antwerp harbour, Belgium.

The new deep-sea terminal, which is at the heart of the second largest Petrochemical region in the world, is now fully operational

Capable of unloading shipments of ethylene from the world’s largest ethylene vessels, the terminal directly supplies the needs of both those INEOS ethylene derivative plants located directly at the Antwerp site and those which are  connected along the ARG ethylene pipeline, which links Antwerp to Köln and the Ruhr industrial areas.

On opening the terminal, Minister-President of Flanders, Kris Peeters, said: "This new terminal gives a new strength to the petrochemical cluster in Antwerp, which for the past fifty years has brought skilled jobs and prosperity to Flanders. This investment shows that INEOS sees a future in Antwerp and is a sign that the policy of Flanders is starting to bear fruit."

INEOS has a very large demand for ethylene, supplied substantially by its own production from several steam crackers across Europe. To balance the shortfall the company has traditionally bought ethylene from other companies that sit on the ARG pipeline. The new one million tonne deep sea terminal now presents an opportunity for INEOS to import competitively priced ethylene from  around the world , thereby improving its flexibility.

Hans Casier, CEO INEOS Oxide, said: “This is a major step for INEOS. The new terminal secures the competitiveness of our site and underlines the importance of our production facilities in Antwerp, located at the heart of the largest Petrochemical area of Europe. By opening up access for us to world ethylene markets we can now secure a competitively priced raw material for our European plants located at the Antwerp site and connected along the ARG pipeline."  

By connecting the terminal to INEOS Oxide in Antwerp and beyond via the ARG pipeline to INEOS Oligomers LAO/PAO facility in Feluy Belgium, and INEOS Olefins & Polymers in Lillo and Köln, INEOS will now be able to supply competitively priced ethylene to efficiently balance its requirements across many of its main European facilities.

INEOS Oxide, part of the INEOS Group of Companies, is a leading producer of Ethylene Oxide and Ethylene Oxide Derivatives, Propylene Oxide and Propylene Oxide Derivatives, plus a range of solvents and speciality chemicals, with production facilities in Antwerp Belgium, Köln Germany, Lavéra France, Plaquemine Louisiana, Freeport Texas and Hull in the United Kingdom.