IRAQ - PC-2 - Musayyib.

Construction of this complex, in central Iraq, had been postponed since the early 1980s because of the war with Iran. Soon after Iran accepted the ceasefire in August 1988, SEP decided to go ahead with the project immediately. The UK subsidiary of Bechtel was contracted as a technical consultant and was asked to do the preliminary studies. The complex was nearly complete when the second Gulf War began in January 1991 and allied bombing severely damaged its units. It was brought on stream in October 1992, with Iraqi engineers having done their own designs and used their technical expertise. But its ethylene unit had a 250,000 t/y capacity compared to the originally planned 420,000 t/y. The feedstocks are naphtha and NGLs. Musayyib was being developed as a major industrial centre, with the West Qurna field to provide most of the crude oil, fuel and associated gas feedstocks. Under pre-war plans, the first phase of the complex was expected to cost up to $2.5 billion and was due to come on stream in the second half of 1991. It was to have the following capacities:

-  420,000 t/y of ethylene,
-  160,000 t/y of low-density polyethylene,
-  55,000 t/y of ethylene glycol,
-  20,000 t/y of ethylene oxide,
-  100,000 t/y of polypropylene,
-  70,000 t/y of butadiene,
-  145,000 t/y of styrene monomer,
-  80,000 t/y of polystyrene,
-  80,000 t/y of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and polybutadiene rubber,
-  60,000 t/y of MTBE,
-  15,000 t/y of butene-1,
-  15,000 t/y of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and
-  5,000 of styrene acrylonitrile copolymer (SAC).

The complex was to have an aromatics plant with a capacity of 115,000 t/y of benzene, 20,000 t/y of toluene, plus a 100,000 t/y alkylation unit and a 30,000 t/y catalytic condensation (polymer gasoline) unit.

Background: In 1989 the PC-2 project was taken over by the Technical Corps for Special Projects (Techcorps), one of the state's combines for strategic work. It subsequently awarded the main process and construction contracts. Construction contracts for all but three units were awarded by the middle of 1990. They went to Technip of France for the polyethylene unit; Tecnimont of Italy for the polypropylene unit; Toyo Engineering (TEC) of Japan in association with Nichimen Corp. for the ABS, SAN and butadiene units; TPL (Italy) for the ethylene glycol, ethylene oxide, MTBE, alkylation and polymer gasoline units; CTIP (Italy) for the butene unit; and Snamprogetti (Italy) for the aromatics plant. The complex was to be equipped with advanced instrumentation and computerised control systems supplied by OAPEC's Bahrain- based Arab Engineering Systems & Control Co. (Arescon) under a $25m technical assistance contract with Techcorps.

Lummus Crest won the contract for the ethylene plant, for which it was to provide its SRT technology. It carried out basic and detailed engineering, procurement and construction supervision. It was also supplying technology and basic engineering for the polystyrene (which was to use the Monsanto/Lummus process) and the styrene monomer units (to have the Huntsman/Lummus process). Basic engineering and process technology were being supplied by Scientific Design of US for the ethylene glycol and ethylene oxide units, Himont (US) for the polypropylene unit, BP Chemicals (UK) for the polyethylene unit, TEC of Japan for the SBR, PBR, ABS and SAN units, TEC/Nippon Zeon for the butadiene unit, Institut Francais du Petrole for the butene-1 and MTBE units, and UOP (US) for the aromatics plant and the alkylation and polymer gasoline units.