CTCI Assists in Expanding the Capacity of World’s Largest EO/EG Petrochemical Plant

Saudi Kayan EO/EG DBN FEED Project

Market:Hydrocarbon
Owner:Saudi Kayan, a subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC)
Completion Date:April 8th, 2016
Location: Al Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia
Scope of Work:Front-end Engineering Design (FEED)

　
The ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol (EO/EG) petrochemical plant of Saudi Kayan, a subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) and one of the world's largest producers, is located in Saudi Arabia's Jubail Industrial City. Driven by a strong international product demand and competitive feedstock pricing in the international market, Saudi Kayan plans to debottleneck the plant to enhance the competitiveness of petrochemical products in the global market.

CTCI Group was awarded the front-end engineering service contract for Saudi Arabia Kayan Petrochemical Company's EO/EG debottlenecking project with a project schedule from January 2016 to April 2016. After the completion of the plant, the capacity of ethylene oxide (EO) will be increased from 550 KTA to 770 KTA, high-purity ethylene oxide (HPEO) capacity will be increased from 200 KTA to 220 KTA, and the capacity of Ethylene Glycol (EG) from 763KTA to 1060 KTA. This will greatly enhance the productivity of the said plant and its related downstream products.

Why CTCI

World Class Professional Engineering Services

Since the completion of the EO/EG petrochemical plant in Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company in 2010, the FEED project of the EO/EG petrochemical plant has been completed ahead of project schedule, and CTCI’s excellent performance has earned the trust of owner SABIC. This will be the foundation for mutual cooperation in the future, and CTCI also establishes a good reputation in the Middle East. As the first front-end engineering contract, CTCI once again stands out from major international companies like JGC, Fluor, Mustang, and Worley Parsons in the competition for the debottlenecking project. We will continue to provide world-class engineering service, and vertical integration of engineering services is our goal.

Reliable Realized

Early Completion with Efficiency

　
According to the contract plan, the duration of the project is only three months. Thus, compared to the general front-end design service duration, the project is a fast track job. In the face of urgent challenge, the CTCI project team and the owner work together as a team with close communication to complete the project on time. CTCI also implemented internal supervision to avoid duplication of work.

In addition, the CTCI project team completed the document submission in accordance with Saudi Arabia local regulations/laws and the owner’s requirement. CTCI has conducted a number of project workshops, some of which were conducted for several weeks in a row, to finally complete challenging front-end engineering work within the contract period with high quality. This will enable owners to take advantage of the prevailing high prices for EO/EG and continue the subsequent EPC contracting as planned.

Technical Matters

Precise Front-End Engineering Design and Integration

　
The challenge is that the petrochemical plant has been in operation for 5 years with no updated and correct as-built drawings. In addition, in order to achieve maximum expansion with minimal modification, a Maximum Capacity Test run was conducted by the original plant process licensor “Scientific Design” to develop the Process Design Package (PDP).

Using pump hydraulic calculation as an example, this is not a once-through process for the DBN project. Instead, it requires proposing different feasible design cases and full discussions with the owner to select the best and most beneficial final solution. CTCI would perform the hydraulic calculation and verify the Process Design Package (PDP) in advance and verify the possible problems. CTCI would discuss all components with the owner to finalize the documents. Despite the time pressures, CTCI project team remains prepared in advance to communicate with the owner, so that the front-end engineering design job can be carried out smoothly and implemented successfully.

Smarter Engineering

In-house Cloud Intelligent Board Document Management

　
The CTCI project team adopts its in-house software “Intelligent Board” as a tool for cloud document management. It provides owners and all project members the latest information with no time difference, both at home and abroad. It works to avoid duplication of work by integrating with the CTCI intelligent engineering information platform (SmartPlant Foundation). The Intelligent Board can convert the information into a chart for submission with a simple interactive interface, set the user permissions, and more. This provides real-time interaction and ensures the protection of confidential information.

In addition, the Intelligent Board automatically generates statistical reports on a daily basis to track the progress of the project so that the management team understands the status of all document submissions. Once the project reaches completion, it can be used as a platform for handover of the data book of all the FEED deliverables. This system enhances the mutual communication between two parties, and it is the key to establishing our reputation and executing the project successfully.