Borealis announces that its new naphtha cavern in Porvoo, Finland has now been safely commissioned as of October 2020. Having invested around EUR 25 million in the construction of this 80,000 m3 facility, Borealis can now source and store naphtha for its Porvoo operations from the global market in a more flexible, cost-efficient, and secure way. The cavern can also accommodate renewable naphtha, making it possible for Borealis customers in future to draw on certified renewable polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), as well as renewable base chemicals, ethylene, propylene and phenol.
Construction of the new cavern began in 2019 and was completed safely, sooner than projected, and significantly under budget. Located 90 meters below ground, the storage volume of the new cavern enables Borealis to source feedstock from various sources and markets. Naphtha can now be delivered by large marine vessels (up to 35 kilotons) in addition to rail. The new Porvoo cavern has also been built to accommodate the storage of renewable naphtha, thus enabling Borealis to produce renewable base chemicals and renewable PP and PE, certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC Plus certification) scheme.
“A core component of our sustainability strategy is to contribute to societal progress and to enable more sustainable living while at the same time delivering robust financial results for Borealis and our stakeholders,” says Martijn van Koten, Borealis Executive Vice President Base Chemicals and Operations. “The innovative cavern in Porvoo improves our commercial flexibility and will make a valuable contribution to the achievement of our sustainability goals and the circularity of our products.”
“Borealis sees investment in our European assets such as Porvoo as a clear sign of our commitment to enhancing the safety, profitability, and sustainability of our operations,” says Thomas Van De Velde, Borealis Senior Vice President Hydrocarbons & Energy. “Our new cavern makes Borealis more independent and flexible in our sourcing of naphtha while enabling the production of renewable feedstock.”
Naphtha is used in the petrochemical industry to produce olefins in steam crackers. Borealis sources feedstock such as naphtha, butane, propane and ethane from the oil and gas industry, as well as renewable feedstock from the market, and converts these into ethylene and propylene through its olefin units. Its flexible steam cracker in Porvoo produces both ethylene and propylene.
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For further information, please contact:
Borealis Group Communications:
Virginia Mesicek, Senior Manager External Communications
tel.: +43 1 22 400 772 (Vienna, Austria)
e-mail: Virginia.Mesicek@borealisgroup.com
Borealis Finland:
Heli Poikonen, Regional Communications Specialist
tel.: +358 9 3949 3004 (Porvoo, Finland)
e-mail: Heli.Poikonen@borealisgroup.com
About Borealis
Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With its head office in Vienna, Austria, the company currently has more than 6,900 employees and operates in over 120 countries. Borealis generated EUR 8.1 billion in sales revenue and a net profit of EUR 872 million in 2019. Mubadala, through its holding company, owns 64% of the company, with the remaining 36% belonging to Austria-based OMV, an integrated, international oil and gas company. Borealis provides services and products to customers globally, in collaboration with Borouge, a joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and with Baystar™, a joint venture with Total in Texas, USA.
About Borealis in Porvoo, Finland
Borealis’ production facility in Porvoo is a fully integrated petrochemical complex comprising an Innovation Centre, Customer Service Centre and six production plants: a cracker for the production of olefins (ethylene, propylene and butadiene), a phenol and aromatics plant, two plants for polyethylene PE (one is a Borstar® plant), a polypropylene (PP) and a compounding unit. The main applications produced are pipe products steel pipe coating, packaging and cable products. Borealis’ innovation centre in Porvoo focuses on catalyst and process research and includes catalyst scale-up facilities and fully integrated Borstar PE and PP semi-commercial pilot plant lines. Borealis’ Customer Service Centre supports customers in Finland, the Nordic and Baltic countries and distributors over the Europe. Borealis in Finland employs around 900 employees.
For more information:
www.borealisgroup.com
www.borealiseverminds.com
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