Major petrochem companies pour billion-dollar investments into Antwerp

Aside from posting a record year in terms of freight volumes handled in 2014, the Port of Antwerp was also the recipient of huge investments from several leading energy companies. Both ExxonMobil and TOTAL announced they will be making huge strategic investments in Antwerp.  

In the summer of 2014, US oil giant ExxonMobil announced mega $1 billion investment in its refinery. Construction of its Delayed Coker Unit began in October for converting heavy, high-sulphur oil residues into cleaner oil products and to produce transport fuel such as diesel and fuel oil for the maritime industry. In over a decade, the US company has already invested more than $2 billion dollars in Antwerp. The latest investment of ExxonMobil will expand its product range and boost its competitive position worldwide.

Another company, TOTAL also made the decision to invest Euro 1 billion in a modernization program for its Antwerp production plant. Antwerp is the company’s largest refining and petrochemical platform in Europe. One of its investment projects, OPTARA, is a new refining complex intended primarily for converting heavy fuel oil into desulphurised diesel and domestic heating oil with ultra-low sulphur content, in response to the shift in demand towards more environmentally-friendly products. The new plant is due to begin operations in 2016.

BASF Antwerp has also started up a new extraction plant for butadiene. The Antwerp plant, which will have an annual production capacity of 155,000 tonnes, is the second BASF butadiene extraction plant in Europe after its headquarters in Ludwigshaven.

Evonik Industries also chose Antwerp to build the first commercial plant in the world to produce AQUAVI Met-Met, an innovative feedstuff additive specially developed for aquaculture of shrimps and other crustaceans. In addition, the company is building a 100,000 tonne 1-butene production plant and expanding its methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) production capacity by up to 150,000 tonnes.

American industrial gas company Praxair is building its second air separation plant and extending its pipeline system in the Port of Antwerp. Thanks to this investment, Praxair will be able to increase its supply of oxygen and nitrogen to companies in the port.

At the same time, French industrial gas company Air Liquide is investing some 50 million euro, doubling its carbon monoxide (CO) production capacity in the Port. The CO will be supplied to BASF, which uses the carbon monoxide for its methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) production. MDI is an important precursor for making polyurethane (PU), a plastic that can be supplied in various forms and has many applications, being used in freezers, refrigerators, the car industry and for varnishes, shoes, leisure articles amongst other things.

In 2014, leading speciality chemical company Lanxess has taken its new high-tech plastics plant in Lillo, on the on the left bank of the River Scheldt, into operation.The new facility, which produces plastic for car parts has an annual capacity of 90,000 tonnes, and represents an investment of 75 million euros.

Other large players in the chemical industry have also started to pour in investments. 3M announced a new investment, a new solvent-free glue production line in Zwijndrecht (Antwerp). The project has a EUR 9.6m price tag and is part of EUR 20m investment plan. At the site, 3M hosts both research and production activities, the latter mainly involving high-quality rubber and glue.