China National Chemical Tianchen Company: World’s largest single-unit PKN MTBE project achieves mechanical completion 4 days ahead of schedule

Recently, the Saudi SABIC PKN MTBE project, for which China National Chemical Tianchen Company is the EPC contractor, achieved mechanical completion 4 days ahead of schedule, continuing the project’s strong track record of on-time delivery. This is a major cooperative project between the two parties. The contract was signed in November 2022 and construction commenced in December 2022. The project mainly involves capacity expansion and revamping of the existing 700,000 t/a MTBE unit. Once it reaches design capacity, annual output will increase to 1 million t/a, making it the world’s largest single-unit MTBE plant.

As SABIC’s first project to adopt its proprietary patented technology, the revamped unit will deliver significant benefits: it can utilize by-product low-pressure steam to generate 10 MW of power, reduce catalyst consumption by about 6,300 tons per year, and extend the turnaround interval of the MTBE synthesis unit from 8 months to 2 years. During construction, the team overcame multi-disciplinary challenges and worked closely with multiple parties. By optimizing transportation and construction plans, increasing the degree of prefabrication, and implementing “package leader” and “area leader” responsibility systems, they ensured steady progress, winning high recognition from the owner and laying a solid foundation for further developing the Saudi and broader Middle East markets.