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Petroleum industry

Royal Dutch Shell Group Dominates Australia's Natural Gas Industry and Announces $2 Billion Petrochemical Plant Project

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Australian Resources Development Minister Colin Barnett announced yesterday that Royal Dutch Shell Group, in partnership with Dow Chemical Co, has won the bid to develop a $2 billion petrochemical plant in Western Australia's Pilbara region. The project, which is expected to start producing in 2003, will create approximately 2000 jobs during construction and several hundred permanent jobs. The plant is expected to produce over $1 billion worth of products each year and help reverse Australia's petrochemicals trade deficit, estimated at around $5 billion annually.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Royal Dutch Shell Group, in partnership with Dow Chemical Co, has won the bid to develop a $2 billion petrochemical plant in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
  • The plant is expected to create approximately 2000 jobs during construction and several hundred permanent jobs.
  • The project, which is expected to start producing in 2003, will help reverse Australia's petrochemicals trade deficit, estimated at around $5 billion annually.
  • The plant is planned to further process gas using ethane feedstock from the North-West Shelf gas fields off WA's coast.
  • The project will be developed in either the Burrup Peninsula or the Maitland industrial estate near Karratha, with the industrial estate being favored due to the area available for further petrochemical developments.
  • The proposed plant will have a minimum capacity of 450,000 tonnes a year and will include an ethane-based ethylene plant, a monoethylene glycol plant, a chlorine-caustic soda plant, and an ethylene dichloride plant.
  • The consortium has indicated a willingness to work with other companies to develop "add-on" chemical products in parallel.
  • A total investment of $4 billion could result from establishing an integrated petrochemicals and chemicals complex.

Statistics:

  • $2 billion - The total investment value of the proposed petrochemical plant project.
  • 2000 - The number of jobs created during the construction phase of the project.
  • Several hundred - The number of permanent jobs that will be created as a result of the project.
  • $5 billion - The estimated annual trade deficit of Australia's petrochemicals industry.
  • 2003 - The expected start date of production for the plant.
  • 450,000 tonnes - The minimum capacity of the proposed ethane-based ethylene plant.
  • $1 billion - The expected annual value of products to be produced by the plant.
  • $4 billion - The potential total investment value of an integrated petrochemicals and chemicals complex.

Sources:

  • The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News (No specific date mentioned)
  • Western Australian Resources Development Minister Colin Barnett's statement (No specific date mentioned)

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