An ethylene fractionation column with a height of 101.8 meters has been installed at the construction site of the Silleno polyethylene production plant. Its diameter is 7.5 meters, and its weight exceeds 1.8 thousand tonnes. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The information was announced by the Kazenergy association, citing KazMunayGas.
Column manufactured in Kazakhstan
The column was manufactured in Kazakhstan at the AtyrauNefteMash plant. It will become one of the key elements of the pyrolysis unit and will be used to extract ethylene – the main feedstock for polyethylene production.
Installation works
A crawler crane with a lifting capacity of 4 thousand tonnes and an auxiliary crane of 1.7 thousand tonnes were used to install the structure. The engineering operation took about five hours.
Project progress
The overall progress of the project has reached 38.5% against a plan of 30%. About 5 thousand people and more than 500 units of special equipment are working at the construction site.
It was previously reported that Silleno, which is building a plant in the Atyrau region with a capacity of 1.25 million tonnes of polyethylene per year, posted a loss of 2.1 billion tenge in 2024, compared with 1 billion tenge in 2023.
About the investment project
The $7.4 billion investment project envisages using gas from the Tengiz field as feedstock for polyethylene production.
The plant launch was scheduled for 2029. By 2030-2031, when the facility in Atyrau reaches its design capacity, polyethylene consumption in Kazakhstan will increase to at least 260-270 thousand tonnes per year, up from the current 190 thousand tonnes.