By Conrad Prabhu — MUSCAT: MARCH 19 - Dutch firm Escher has secured a contract to supply a total of five flare systems for the multibillion dollar Liwa Plastics Industries Complex (LPIC) currently under construction at Suhar. Orpic, the Sultanate’s refining and petrochemicals flagship, is investing $6.4 billion in the development of the giant petrochemicals scheme within the industrial port at Suhar, with a smaller upstream component at Fahud as well. An integral part of any refinery, petrochemicals or oilfield processing plant, flare systems help in the safe burning of excess hydrocarbon and purge gases in an environmentally sound manner, as an alternative to releasing these vapours directly into the atmosphere.
Given the massive size of the LPIC project with its multiple components, Escher Process Modules, based in Alblasserdam in the Netherlands, will fabricate and deliver five flare systems in the third quarter of this year.
Three of the flares will be supported on one common derrick structure towering above the site at a height of about 170 metres. The other two flare systems will be fitted atop a second common derrick structure at a height of around 100 metres. Either derrick is equipped with one or more retractable gas riser systems which allows for one flare tip to be removed for maintenance or inspection while the other flares remain in operation, the company said.
Commenting on the award of the Orpic contract, Robbert Schimer, Account Manager at Escher, said: “We are proud that we have won this contract and that we are part of this sophisticated project. Our track record of more than 50 years with derrick supported flare systems contributed to a competitive design. With this design we were able to secure the order award for this project.”
Multiple consortiums of internationally reputed engineering contracts are currently executing the mammoth petrochemicals complex at a dedicated site within Sohar Port and Freezone. Centring on a steam cracker plant, Liwa Plastics will process light ends produced in Orpic’s Suhar Refinery and its Aromatics Plant as well as optimize natural gas liquids (NGLs) extracted from currently available natural gas supplies.
The project is conceptualized around the rerouting elements of existing production in combination with additional purchased feedstocks to deliver high value polymer products for the local and international marketplaces. Upon commissioning and commercial start-up by 2020, Liwa Plastics is set to boost plastics production by one million tonnes. By then, production of polyethylene and polypropylene is set to soar to 1.4 million tonnes per annum.
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