Lanxess signs C4 supply deal for Singapore BR plant

ERJ staff report (DS)

Singapore, Leverkusen - Lanxess will break ground for its new neodymium polybutadiene rubber (Nd-PBR) plant in Singapore on September 11 this year, following the signing of a butadiene monomer supply deal with Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (Private) Limited (PCS).

The company plans to invest roughly EUR 200 million (about SGD 340 million) in a 140,000 metric tons per annum facility in Jurong Island Chemical Park. Lanxess claims the facility will be the largest of its kind in the world and serve the growing market for “Green Tyres”, especially in Asia. About 100 jobs will be created. The plant is expected to start up in the first half of 2015.

At today's launch event, Lanxess CEO Axel Heitmann announced that Lanxess has signed contracts with key suppliers to its Nd-PBR plant. With these suppliers in place, the project execution phase can now start to set up the infrastructure for the construction of the plant.

PCS is building a new butadiene extraction unit and associated infrastructure necessary to supply the raw material. Both companies had signed a Memorandum of Understanding already in June last year regarding the supply.

In addition, Singapore's TP Utilities Pte Ltd (a wholly-owned unit of Tuas Power Ltd) will provide steam to the Nd-PBR plant. TP Utilities is adding 650 tons per hour of steam capacity to its existing biomass-clean coal cogeneration plant on Jurong Island, which currently has 500 tons per hour of steam capacity and 100 Megawatt of electricity generation capacity.

Lanxess' new Nd-PBR plant will be located on Jurong Island next to the company's butyl rubber plant, which represents the company's single-largest investment at EUR 400 million (about SGD 675 million). It is currently under construction and will come on stream in the first quarter of 2013.

Construction of the butyl rubber plant is progressing according to schedule. The installation of infrastructure and steel has been successfully completed. Most of the equipment is on site and installed. More than 2,000 workers are currently employed on the construction site.

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Press release from Lanxess