SK awarded contract for Ineos' Antwerp PDH unit

South Korea's SK Engineering & Construction has been awarded a contract to carry out a front-end engineering and design study for a 750,000 t/yr propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit that UK petrochemical giant Ineos plants to build in Belgium's Antwerp, as part of a larger €3bn euro ($3.37bn) complex.

The $14mn contract, which was signed yesterday in London, involves a one-year study of the project's economics and technical requirements. SK said it also has been selected as the preferred bidder to build the $1bn PDH unit, which ties in with an ethane cracker that Ineos also plans to build on the site. PDH plants produce propylene by removing hydrogen from propane. Propylene is they key raw material for polypropylene, which is used for such products as packaging films, adhesive tapes and textiles.

SK said the contract also marks the first PDH project by a South Korean company in western Europe. SK affiliate SK Advanced will also be involved in the project and will provide expertise on PDH operations to Ineos.