Fluor has bagged the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for a Malaysian isononanol chemical plant owned by Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical.
The contract value has not been disclosed by the Texas-based multinational engineering and construction firm Fluor, which plans to record it in the third quarter of the year.
The isononanol plant will be built with an investment of nearly RM1.9bn ($442m) within the Pengerang Integrated Complex which in turn is being developed at a cost of $27bn in Pengerang, Johor state.
Fluor energy and chemicals Asia Pacific president Ken Choudhary said: “This award is a testament to the strong partnership we have with PETRONAS.
“We will use our experience and best practices gained from completing other isononanol facilities on time and on budget to deliver this project with excellence.”
The isononanol chemical plant is part of the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project.
A consortium featuring Fluor and Technip was selected as the program management consultant for the RAPID project, and also as the EPCM contractor for the utilities, interconnecting and offsites works.
Expected to begin operations in the second half of 2019, the Pengerang chemical plant will have an annual production of 250,000 tons of isononanol which is considered to be an important chemical building block in plasticizers.
The produced isononanol in turn will be used to produce mainly the high molecular weight phthalate plasticizer Diisononyl phthalate for use in industrial applications like automotive, floorings, buildings and constructions, and wires and cables.
In April this year, Petronas had approved the final investment decision for the development of the isononanol chemical plant.
Image: Groundbreaking of Petronas isononanol chemical plant in Malaysia. Photo: courtesy of Business Wire.