SIBUR increases PET production capacity at plant in Bashkortostan

POLIEF, SIBUR's subsidiary, has completed its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) production expansion project to increase its capacity from 140,000 tpy to 210,000 tpy,

The formal ceremony was attended by Rustem Khamitov, president of Bashkortostan, along with other representatives of the Republic's Administration, and Dmitry Konov, CEO of SIBUR, accompanied by several members of the company's management team.

As part of the expansion project, POLIEF has modernized its existing PET production lines and constructed a new line. The expansion will enable POLIEF to process terephthalic acid of its own production into in-demand polymers and substitute imports in some Russian PET market segments.

In 2013, PET consumption in Russia amounted to 580,000 tons, compared with only 405,000 tons of domestic production, which was supplemented by imports. Food-grade PET consumption per capita in Russia is 4.1 kg compared with 6.6 kg in Western Europe and 9.5 kg in the US. 

Thus, the expansion of POLIEF's production capacity will reduce reliance on imported PET. On completion of the project, SIBUR’s total PET production capacity increased by one-third to reach 285,000 tpy.

The decision to expand the PET production capacity at POLIEF was made in December 2010. Construction and installation work began in December 2012 and lasted one year. More than 70 contractors worked on the project; 70% were Bashkortostan-based companies and the remaining 30% came from other Russian regions.

Guarantee tests on the upgraded and new PET lines were conducted with the technology licensors, BIO CHEMTEX (Italy) and UOP (Belgium). Investment in the project totaled $532 billion.

The new advanced equipment will contribute to reducing the company’s environmental footprint and decreasing energy consumption. The modernization is also expected to improve control over the production process and the efficiency of the equipment.

“Expanding PET production is a major element of the company's strategy to provide deep processing services for converting hydrocarbon production by-products into valuable petrochemicals," said Konov. "POLIEF's new capacities will enable us to meet the increasing market demand for high-quality safe products.”