Orlen signed a contract with Synthos to get 100 percent of the shares in S54 building a fresh unit of butadiene extraction.
The unit will yet become an integral part of the Płock Production Plant, allowing Orlen to keep an extended value chain of petrochemical production. The transaction worth approx. PLN 692 million and the package of accompanying contracts further organize the existing relations between companies and open the way for further cooperation on transparent, mutually beneficial rules.
We regain full control of the unit at the heart of the investment
– We consistently fix the mistakes of the predecessors. We're arranging projects that didn't safe Orlen's interests. The Olefina III task and its related investment in the fresh butadiene installation were another example of this. The agreement we reached with Synthos is closing this stage. We regain full control of the unit at the heart of the investment. To accomplish this, we have developed a satisfactory solution for both sides, which creates a strong foundation for further partnership. We're restoring appropriate relationships. Thanks to this, the fresh Chemistry task can proceed in line with the direction we have adopted," says Ireneusz Fąfara, president of Orlen.
The company, in accordance with the signed agreement, will take full control of S54, which is building a butadiene extraction installation at the Płock Production Plant. The fresh unit will yet become an integral part of the barrier value chain of petrochemical production. It will receive the full C4 fraction and supply the raffinate utilized in further petrochemical processes.
The agreements signed besides concern cooperation between Orlen and Synthos in the Czech Republic
In parallel, the parties have signed a number of agreements and annexes to existing agreements which comprehensively regulate existing legal and commercial relations. This is the consequence of the review of the company's commercial obligations and the measures to order investment decisions taken in erstwhile years.
The agreements signed besides concern cooperation between Orlen and Synthos in the Czech Republic. They presume a simplification in the duration of the JV Butadien Kralupy and contracts for C4, refinery and butadiene from 2049 to 2038. Additionally, they safe another 2 years of reception of ethylene and benzene in the Czech Republic.
In December last year, the Orlen board decided to halt the Olefina III task in its current scope
The cooperation of Orlen and Synthos at the Butadien Unit was initiated a fewer years ago as part of the Petrochemistry improvement Program in Płock. The model then adopted was to separate the investment into a separate company over which Orlen had no operational or ownership control.
In December last year, the Orlen board decided to halt the Olefina III task in its current scope and carry out further work under the fresh Chemistry project, based on fresh technological, operational and business assumptions. fresh Chemistry assumes the creation of a modern monomer plant and an increase in the sales opportunities of Orlen in the area of ethylene oxide and glycol, styrene and C4 butadiene fraction in an optimized volume to market.
