MOL lays foundation for 1.2B EUR petrochemical investment
The foundation stone for the Tiszaújváros polyol plant has been laid. The plant is expected to be commissioned in 2021. MOL will invest EUR 1.2 billion to construct the plant which will be able to produce around 200,000 tons of polyols per year.
Zsolt Hernádi, Chairman and C-CEO of MOL Group, Dr. Sami Pelkonen, CEO Chemical & Process Technologies at thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, Ferenc Koncz, Member of the Hungarian Parliament and Mihály Varga, Finance Minister, took part at the foundation stone laying ceremony. MOL Petrochemicals in Tiszaújváros will be the only company in Hungary and the entire Central and Eastern European region with an integrated value chain from crude oil extraction to the production of polyether polyols (widely used raw materials in plastics). The polyol project will provide long-term employment opportunity for 200 people.
Expected to start production in 2021, the plant is the largest organic investment project in MOL’s history, with a total budget of EUR 1.2 billion including the investment aid of the Hungarian government of EUR 131 million (a combination of corporate tax allowance and cash investment grant). According to MOL’s estimates, the plant will contribute approximately EUR 150 million per annum to MOL Group’s financial results (EBITDA). Polyol is an important and highly sought-after plastic raw material that is used in numerous industries, from automotive manufacturing to construction to the clothing industry. The Tiszaújváros complex will produce polyol using efficient and environmentally friendly technologies such as the HPPO process (propylene oxide from hydrogen peroxide) developed by thyssenkrupp and Evonik.
“This investment project will make MOL Group one of the most important players in the region’s chemical industry, with MOL being the only Central and Eastern European company to control the entire value chain from crude oil extraction to polyol production,” said Zsolt Hernádi. - "Once commissioned in 2021, the plant will further enhance the position of Tiszaújváros in the chemical industry, as the expertise and the new production infrastructure established here may attract additional investors to the area."
“Today marks an important step for the transformation of the chemical industry in Hungary as well as for the cooperation between MOL and thyssenkrupp,” said Dr. Sami Pelkonen. ”With its Vision 2030, MOL is pursuing an ambitious growth agenda. We are proud and sustainably committed to support this vision and to contribute with our technologies and know-how to an innovative and sustainable chemical sector.”
One of the cornerstones of MOL Group 2030 - Enter Tomorrow strategy is to expand the company’s petrochemicals value chain and produce more valuable products. The polyol plant and the previously opened synthetic rubber plant are the milestones of this strategy. The synthetic rubber plant of MOL Group and the Japanese JSR Corporation produces 60,000 tons of solution polymerization styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR), a highly sought after chemical product globally. The most important feedstock of S-SBR is butadiene, which is produced by MOL at an adjacent plant commissioned in 2015.
Brief summary of MOL Group Petrochemicals
In line with its 2030 strategy, MOL Group is expanding its petrochemical value chain towards semi-mass-produced and special chemical products in order to become the leading chemical industry actor in the Central Eastern European region. Due to its wide range of application opportunities, polyether polyol, which is the raw material for polyurethane foams, represents the main direction of MOL's petrochemical development. It is also used, for example, in the automotive, construction, packaging and furniture industries. MOL aims to be a strategic partner for polyurethane producers in the region, based on its fully integrated value chain, state-of-the-art technological equipment and outstanding service standards.
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