BASF Isononanol (INA) Plant

Fluor completed the world-scale isononanol (INA) plant for BASF and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) JV in the fourth quarter of 2015. Located in the Maoming Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Maoming, China, the plant is a first-of-its-kind in Asia and will meet the growing demand for next-generation plasticizers. The new plant has an annual capacity of 180,000 metric tons of INA.

Fluor applied its integrated project execution experience in China, including its knowledge of working with joint ventures involving multi-national foreign investors and Chinese national oil companies, to complete the project safely and on schedule.

Client's Challenge

BASF and Sinopec identified this project as a schedule-driven, fast-track project. Ensuring this technologically-complex plant would be constructed safely, in a cost-effective manner and within the tight schedule served as a challenge to the team.

Fluor's Solution

Fluor's Shanghai office executed the pre-front-end engineering and design (pre-FEED) support, FEED and detailed engineering, procurement and construction management for the plant, which included process units with supporting infrastructure, utilities and offsite facilities for the production of INA.

Though Fluor has executed over 350 projects in China, the INA plant is one of the first self-performed comprehensive FEED projects to be done in China and is also one of the first FEED projects executed entirely by a local Chinese team.

Fluor integrated its construction expertise and planning into the design phase through a thorough constructability review. The review included detailed sequencing and installation planning to ensure construction of the dense and compact process units went efficiently and safely. An additional consideration was the assimilation of BASF mandatory specifications with local and Chinese codes and regulations.

During site execution, the project underwent Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE) audits by BASF and Fluor, achieving the highest score in the Asia-Pacific region. The project was also recognized by Fluor's Energy & Chemicals business line leadership with the 2014 Energy & Chemicals Asia-Pacific Region Top HSE Award, along with the 2014 Energy & Chemicals' Group President's HSE Award. Project completion was achieved without a recordable incident.

With time to market as the project's business driver, Fluor completed the engineering, procurement and construction management on schedule. Fluor also maximized the use of local suppliers for procurement and material, as well as managed Chinese construction contractors.

Conclusion

Fluor used the breadth of its tools and knowledge to provide solutions for the project.

The project was delivered safely and in a manner that met BASF and Sinopec's business needs.

The project is a continuation of the long-standing partnership between Fluor, BASF and Sinopec, and builds upon the successful completion of various projects at the Verbund site in Nanjing, China.