Indonesia Is on Its Way to Become Self-Sufficient in The Production of Olefins

Presently, several petrochemical projects are either under construction or expansion and Indonesia is on its way to become self-sufficient in the production of olefins like ethylene and propylene, aromatic and other petrochemical products by 2020, the Indonesian Olefin, Aromatic and Plastic Industry Association (INAplas) has said, The Jakarta Post reported.

According to the association, the construction of new petrochemical plants and the ongoing expansion projects would raise Indonesia’s current production capacity of 3.9 million tons per annum by 30-40 percent over the next 3-5 years.

Speaking after a seminar in Jakarta, Suhat Miyarso, vice president of INAplas, hoped that Indonesia would not need to import petrochemical products after 2020 as there are several plans to build new plants or increase production capacity.

According to Mr. Miyarso, expansion is being carried out at five existing plants, all in Banten, West Java. This includes, Japan-based Nippon Shokubai, which is going to raise its acrylic acid production capacity; Polychem Indonesia, which has plans to increase mono ethylene glycol (MEG) production; and PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical (CAP), which plans to increase its naphtha cracker production capacity.

Mr. Miyarso, who is also Chandra Asri’s vice president for corporate relations, said the expansion of the five projects is likely to get completed next year.

There are seven new projects coming up in Indonesia, which include South Korean Honam Petrochemical Corporation’s naphtha cracker facility in Banten. Also, German petrochemical company Ferrostaal Industrial Projects will work together with Chandra Asri to build a methanol-to-olefin (MTO) plant in Papua.

Most of the seven new projects, being built at the cost of US$ 39 billion, are likely to be completed between 2017 and 2020, Mr. Miyarso informed.

At present, Indonesia has petrochemical production capacity of 3.9 million tons, compared to the national demand of 4.3 million tons.