OMV-Borealis invest EUR 840 mn in expansion of Burghausen plant

11 Sep '08

6 min read

OMV and Borealis invest EUR 840 mn in the expansion of their petrochemical production capacities.

Increase of ethylene production to 450,000 t per year; increase of propylene production to 560,000 t; increase of polypropylene production to 570,000 t

• New plants successfully on stream with the implementation of the innovative Borstar and metathesis technologies.
• Expansion of polypropylene capacities to address growing demand for advanced packaging products and medical applications.
• Inauguration Ceremony on September 10, 2008 under the patronage of Emilia Müller, State Minister of Bavaria for Economy, Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology.

In November 2006, OMV Aktiengesellschaft first announced their EUR 1.1 bn investment in Bavaria. So far EUR 640 mn have been invested in Burghausen refinery and an additional EUR 200 mn were invested by Borealis in the expansion of their neighbouring plastics production facilities.

Since the successful OMV shutdown in 2007, the production and conversion of petrochemical base chemicals into innovative plastics products on the premises of OMV and Borealis have been flawlessly coordinated.

OMV has increased the ethylene production by 110.000 t to 450,000 t per year and the propylene production by 315.000 t to 560,000 t. The boost of the polypropylene production by 330.000 t to 570.000 t has increased Borealis' polyolefin capacities to 745,000 t in total.

Thus, Burghausen has become the ninth largest polyolefin site and the third largest polypropylene site in Europe. By acting as the patron of the Inauguration Ceremony, Minister of State for Economy Emilia Müller recognises the innovative technologies and the potential to supply the plastics industry, which are two priority areas for the highly integrated Burghausen site.

OMV achieved these capacity expansions with the construction of the new metathesis plant, the expansion of the ethylene plant as well as the construction of a major cracker furnace.

Borealis expanded its polypropylene production by integrating an additional Borstar polypropylene plant on their premises in Burghausen.

Development started in 2006, and the plant started up in spring of 2008 after a major OMV shutdown for the integration of the new components.

The ethylene and propylene plants as well as the polypropylene production plant are running smoothly and provide reliably the production output as planned.

Following a routine optimisation phase it will now be possible to operate at more than nameplate production capacity in several new plants.

Application of innovative technologies:
Especially the innovative metathesis plant, the first of its kind in Europe, was successfully integrated into the refinery system within a short period of time, despite a lack of prior experience. The production of petrochemical base materials is exceptionally efficient using metathesis.

This environmentally friendly method is considered one of the most significant innovations in recent years, causing a revolution within the chemical industry.

On the one hand, less technical input is needed than with other conventional technologies; on the other hand, propylene production consumes 50% less energy.

OMV Deputy Chairman Gerhard Roiss: “The OMV refinery in Burghausen with its focus on the petrochemical sector holds a special position within Germany's refinery industry.

With the current investment a third of the production goes into plastics apart from the classical target markets mobility and heath. By doing so, we achieve a significant increase of the refinery's value creation.

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