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11 Apr 2005  -  Netherlands

SABIC Pipelines and Infracor to manage new propylene pipeline

SABIC Pipelines, the operator of the northern European ethylene pipeline grid, is to manage a new propylene pipeline in association with Infracor, a German company. The European Pipeline Development Company (EPDC) selected the Dutch-German consortium as having submitted the best bid in its EU tendering procedure.

- Link

Like the existing ethylene pipeline, the new propylene pipeline will link the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp with a number of key industrial areas in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, including the Ruhr industrial region. Infracor will manage and maintain the German section of the pipeline, whilst SABIC Pipelines will be responsible for the Dutch and Belgian sections. SABIC Pipelines will also be responsible for operating the pipeline from a central control room.

- Tremendous boost

Ethylene and propylene are vital raw materials for the chemical industry, and the pipeline grids carrying the two compounds link both manufacturers and customers. "The current ethylene pipeline grid ARG, which was built more than 35 years ago, has given a tremendous boost to the growth of the chemical industry along its entire route," says Rudi Demeuse, the Managing Director of the EPDC. "The new propylene network is likely to have the same effect."

Demeuse believes that it was not just a reputation for safe and reliable pipeline management that lay behind the selection of SABIC Pipelines and Infracor. Demeuse: "The new propylene pipeline will run alongside the existing ethylene pipeline. This means that SABIC Pipelines and Infracor are already familiar with local stakeholders, and vice versa. In order to operate a pipeline reliably, it is absolutely vital to maintain close and harmonious relations with all the relevant land-owners and other stakeholders."

Although the EPDC is a partnership consisting of eight chemical producers, including SABIC itself, other companies will also be free to make use of the propylene network.

Joop Wessels, the Managing Director of SABIC Pipelines, is delighted with the new contract. "One of the main arguments in our favour was the fact that we already had a well-established, successful partnership with Infracor, together with whom we've operated the ARG ethylene pipeline grid safely for 35 years now. Our selection by the EPDC goes to show just how important this is."

Dirk Jedziny, the Managing Director of Infracor, stresses the importance of the propylene pipeline for the Ruhr industrial region. "The chemical industry can grow only if it is guaranteed an uninterrupted supply of raw materials. Our pipelines are the industry's arteries."

SABIC Pipelines

SABIC Pipelines BV (based in Urmond, the Netherlands) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SABIC Europe. It operates pipelines for transporting naphtha (PAL), ethylene (ARG) and monovinyl chloride on behalf of a range of chemical companies. It employs a workforce of 57.

Infracor

Infracor GmbH (Marl, Germany), a wholly owned subsidiary of Degussa AG, has been operating the Marl Chemical Park for eight years and is one of the few service-providers in the sector to offer the entire range of services required to operate chemical process plants from a single source. Its services include energy and utilities, waste management, technical plant management and maintenance operations, logistics, telecommunications and IT services, environmental protection, plant safety, occupational health and safety as well as facility management, PR & communication.

The Marl Chemical Park covers an area of around 6.5 square kilometers and is one of the three large chemical sites in Germany. Over 10,000 employees are employed at the Park in 31 companies.

European Pipeline Development Company

The European Pipeline Development Company BV (EPDC) is a Dutch company whose shareholders are eight large chemical manufacturers based in northwest Europe. Its object is to build and operate a common-carrier network of propylene pipelines linking the industrial centres of Rotterdam, Antwerp, Tessenderlo, Geleen, Cologne, Wesseling, Duisburg and Marl. With a total length of around 500 km, the network is set to cost a total of €200 million. The EPDC is based in Venlo, the Netherlands.