ChemOne to build US$3.38b Pengerang plant, hire 7,000 people

KUALA LUMPUR: Singaporebased ChemOne Group will undertake a US$3.38 billion project in Johor called the Pengerang Energy Complex (PEC).

It will be one of the world’s largest and most competitive integrated condensate splitter and aromatics facilities.

Construction is expected to start in the second half of this year, said ChemOne in a statement yesterday.

It said the group is the master developer and majority shareholder through its sponsorship in PEC.

Maire Tecnimont of Italy is ChemOne’s engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning partner for the project, and UOP is the technology provider for PEC.

ChemOne said PEC aims to become a world-class petrochemical facility that will add value to the downstream oil and gas value chain in Malaysia.

This is in line with the government’s plan to increase Malaysia’s petrochemical output and establish the country as a regional oil storage and trading hub. PEC is expected to generate an annual export turnover of US$5 billion from 2024.

During its four-year construction phase, PEC will hire more than 7,000 employees. Once it begins operations, it will employ 250 people, of whom 80 per cent will be Malaysians.

ChemOne said the project will employ various external contractors, service providers and small and medium enterprises.

It said PEC is estimated to require US$600 million to US$750 million worth of Malaysian-made content and catalyse additional investments of US$500 million to US$600 million for associated infrastructure, storage and other facilities.

PEC will have a processing capacity of 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate plus side feed of naphtha, an aromatics output of 2.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), energy products output of 3.9 million mtpa and hydrogen output of 50,000 mtpa.

The condensate splitter will produce heavy aromatics naphtha, a primary feedstock for the aromatics plant.

ChemOne principal in the chairman’s office, Edwin Seow, said: “With the petrochemical market set to pick up, PEC is poised to deliver profitable growth while creating gainful employment and moving Malaysia up the value chain in the petrochemical sector.”