This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on February 6, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: ChemOne Group, the Singapore-based oil and gas, petrochemicals and natural resources conglomerate, yesterday launched a US$3.38 billion (RM13.96 billion) aromatics plant in Johor, with construction scheduled to start in the second half of 2020.

The project — dubbed the Pengerang Energy Complex (PEC) — aims to be a world-class petrochemical hub that will add value to Malaysia’s downstream oil and gas value chain, ChemOne said in a statement.

The complex, which is scheduled for development across four years, will have a processing capacity of 150,000 barrels per day of condensate plus side feed of naphtha, an aromatics output of 2.3 million tonnes per annum, energy products output of 3.9 million tonnes per annum, and hydrogen of 50,000 tonnes per annum.

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

“At full capacity, expected from 2024, PEC is expected to generate an annual export turnover of US$5 billion for Malaysia,” it said.

“ChemOne is excited to announce this groundbreaking project and intend to deliver a successful project given its track record and the strong support it enjoys from stakeholders who share similar ambitions and expertise,” Edwin Seow, ChemOne principal in the chairman’s office, said in the statement.

“With the petrochemical market set to pick up further, PEC is poised to deliver profitable growth while creating gainful local employment and moving Malaysia further up the value chain in the petrochemical sector,” he said.

ChemOne is the master developer and majority shareholder through its sponsorship in PEC.

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