Atyrau, 22 October. KMG PetroChem has begun building trunk pipelines for liquefied ethane and propane, each about 210 km long, from the Gas Separation Complex at Tengiz to gas chemical plants at Karabatan.
They are due to enter service at the end of 2028; the plants are located in the National Industrial Petrochemical Technopark special economic zone (SEZ NIPT).
Work began with the first weld; the start was given about 50 km from Atyrau. The ethane line will carry 1.6m tonnes a year and the propane line 1.1m tonnes. Ethane and propane are gases separated from associated petroleum gas that serve as feedstock for polyethylene and polypropylene. Together with the Gas Separation Complex and the polyethylene plant, the pipelines form a single system for deep processing of hydrocarbons.
Kazakhstan has never had trunk ethane or propane pipelines before. The first technical regulation in the CIS was approved for them. Both lines are assembled from seamless pipes of carbon and alloy steel designed for low temperatures; production of pipes for the propane line has already begun. Block valve stations with automated shut-off valves are installed every 5–10 km, and the route has a leak detection system and gas analysers.
The general contractor under the EPC contract — for engineering, procurement and construction on a turnkey basis — is a consortium led by China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering with CITIC Construction and CPPE Kazakhstan. Up to 1,300 people will be employed at the peak; priority hiring of Atyrau region residents is set out in a three-way memorandum between the regional employment department, KMG PetroChem and the contractor. About 170 permanent jobs will be created for operation.
What it means: The gas chemical plants at Karabatan will get their own pipeline link to Tengiz feedstock. Without it, polyethylene and polypropylene production would depend on other ways of delivering ethane and propane.
Who benefits: The project is needed above all by the polyethylene and polypropylene plants in the SEZ NIPT, which will get a stable supply of feedstock. According to the company, local equipment suppliers, contractors and Atyrau region residents promised priority hiring also stand to gain.
Background: As reported on 22 October, the price of feedstock for Kazakhstan's new gas chemical plants will be set by agreement between supplier and buyer.
List of sources used: KMG PetroChem, Oil and Gas of Kazakhstan
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
