Ineos has taken delivery of the first of two mammoth modules vital for the completion of Project One, its €5 billion ($5.7bn) ethane cracker in Antwerp, Belgium.
The heavyweight installations, which were built in Abu Dhabi, had been trapped in the Strait of Hormuz for months until the mid-June ceasefire granted a temporary reprieve.
The first module, which weighs 6,920 tonnes and is 55m high, is now at the plant, while the second, which is 7,200t, is expected in the coming days, Ineos said.
Their arrival marks the ‘last major construction milestone before start-up’, the company added.
Mechanical completion of the full site is scheduled for next summer, with production targeted for the second half of 2027.
“We are extremely relieved that the last two modules have arrived ‘home’ in Antwerp safely,” said John McNally, chief executive of Ineos Project One.
‘A significant milestone’
“I am already looking forward to seeing them take their final positions within the overall installation so that we can complete hooking all of our modules together and start up our cracker complex. This marks a significant milestone in the realisation of this project, which is unique in Europe.”
Ineos said it had opted for a modular construction of Project One to overcome the lack of space at the Antwerp site, minimise disruption, and also result in significant time savings.
Process modules, crackers, and pipe racks were assembled at overseas sites, while civil engineering works and the laying of foundations began in parallel at Antwerp.
The company will now focus on mechanical, electrical and instrumentation work at the site, which has than 2,500 workers from approximately 80 contractors working on the premises.
In 2023, Ineos Olefins Belgium secured €3.5 billion ($3.75bn) in financing to support the construction and operation of what it claimed would be the most environmentally sustainable cracker in Europe.
Describing Project One as the largest investment in the European chemical sector for a generation, Ineos said the ethylene plant, in Antwerp, would have the lowest carbon footprint on the Continent.
It had expected the site to be operational by 2026.
