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European pipeline
ethylene ARG Others
EU
approves state aid for Bavarian ethylene pipe
propylene
EPDC
cancels European propylene pipeline project on high costs
Ethylene
Pipeline Company ARG
2002/9/30 BP/BASF/Sasol
BP meets EC Undertaking
and sells ARG to BASF And Sasol
http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=2001329
BP announced today that
it has sold two of its shareholdings in the ethylene pipeline
company, Aethylen Rohrleitungs Gesellschaft
mbH & Co. KG (ARG). The shareholdings have been sold
in separate transactions to BASF Aktiengesellschaft and Sasol
Germany GmbH.
Financial details of the transactions, which were completed
today, are not being disclosed.
The sale of two of the three shareholdings in ARG held by BP and
Veba Oel was one of the conditions attached to the European
Commission's clearance of BP's acquisition of Veba Oel. The sales of the shareholdings
have been approved by the other ARG shareholders and the European
Commission.
BASF
operates
steamcrackers at its Verbund sites in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and
Antwerp, Belgium, with a total ethylene capacity of 1.4 million
tonnes a year. Both BASF sites are integrated into the Northwest
European ethylene pipeline grid where the ARG forms the integral
part. The acquisition offers BASF the opportunity to further
optimize operations across Europe. Ethylene is one of the core
starting materials within BASF to manufacture a wide range of
higher-value chemicals, solvents, dispersions and polymers. BASF
today is also a seller of ethylene to external markets.
Sasol
Germany is a
chemical company with five production sites located in
Brunsbuettel, Herne, Marl, Moers, and Witten. Two of them are
linked to the ARG system. Ethylene is an important feedstock for
Sasol Germany. It is used for the production of fatty alcohols,
ethylene oxides, ethanol, and inorganic specialities like high
purity aluminas. The acquisition strengthens the ethylene supply
basis for Sasol Germany.
ARG was founded in 1969 by BP, Huls,
Erdolchemie, Bayer, DSM and Scholven-Chemie. The 495 km ARG pipeline
transports ethylene between producers and consumers at
petrochemical sites in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. It
is an important facility for the European petrochemical industry,
linking directly or indirectly almost half the ethylene
production capacity in Europe and 90 per cent of the capacity in
Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
The ARG shareholders are now: Westgas GmbH &
Co KG; Bayer AG; DSM Hydrocarbons B.V.; Sasol Germany GmbH; BASF
AG; and BP
(in the name of Veba Oel Refining & Petrochemicals). BP will
thus continue to hold one of the six shareholdings in ARG.
| Common ethylene
pipeline grid and logistics In
1968 developments in the ethylene market led to the
setting up of the Ethylene Pipeline Company
ARG,
which immediately began work on the construction of a
common ethylene pipeline grid.
Today the pipeline network has a total length of more
than 490 km and runs from the Antwerp region in Belgium
to the north of the Ruhr area in Germany.
The
shareholders now all holding a sixth of ARG are Westgas
GmbH & Co, Bayer, DSM Hydrocarbons(now SABIC Hydrocarbons BV), Sasol
Germany, BASF and BP, which holds its stake
through its Veba Oel Refining and Petrochemicals unit.
|
Port Range Antwerp-
2004/3
New ARG ethylene line fee structure needed
A simple fee structure for Europe’s ARG (Aethylen Rohrleitungs
Gesellschaft) ethylene pipeline system was proposed here Tuesday
by Mike Smith, commercial director of Belgian polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) producer LVM.
Smith said that the ARG is too expensive and restrictive, and
that the proposed solution would offer significant fee reductions
for volumes and distances shipped on an annual basis.
The basic tariff to send one tonne of ethylene over 50 kilometres
(31 miles) is currently almost Euro30. Significantly lower rates
can be obtained, but with restrictions; for example, 200 000
tonne/year for six years. He proposed expanding the ARG
to bring all the attached ethylene pipeline systems into the ARG in return for a participation in
the company.
These pipelines could include the Shell pipeline connecting Rotterdam with
Antwerp, the FAO pipeline in Antwerp, the NSM pipeline connecting Antwerp with Feluy,
Belgium, the Solvay pipeline to Jemeppe in Belgium, and the InfraServ and
BASF pipelines
in Germany, he suggested
2004/8/26 Operator=Sabic Pipeline
PRG Pipeline
Company Established
Contributes
to Strengthening of Local Economy.
http://www.chemsite.de/englisch/news/20040826leg.htm
Agreements
signed today by LEG Stadtentwicklung and chemical industry
With the signing of partnership agreements, PRG
Propylenpipeline Ruhr GmbH was officially established in Düsseldorf, Germany, today. The
company's founding represents a major step forward for a key
infrastructure project: PRG will construct a new pipeline in
Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state to connect
the Ruhr region with Rotterdam.
LEG Stadtentwicklung GmbH &
Co. KG
and European Pipeline
Development Company (EPDC) hold interests in PRG of 50.2
percent and 49.8 percent respectively. LEG
Stadtentwicklung GmbH & Co. KG is a wholly owned subsidiary
of LEG NRW GmbH. Eight chemical companies interested in using the
pipeline are partners in EPDC.
"Our
stake in the company is an important contribution toward
strengthening the local economy of North Rhine-Westphalia,"
said Dr. Rolf Heyer, General Manager of LEG Stadtentwicklung GmbH
& Co. KG, on the occasion of the contract signing. Henk
Becker, General Manager of EPDC, described the formation of PRG
as a "successful example of public-private
partnership."
The
state government of North Rhine-Westphalia had invited LEG to
join PRG as majority shareholder - the participation of LEG
Stadtentwicklung GmbH & Co. KG, a public-sector company, will
allow the project to receive support in the form of EU and state
funds. The project involves an investment of approximately
euro200 million, with around euro 40 million in development
assistance being provided by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
and the European Union.
European Pipeline Company
BV(EPC),
a consortium of companies in the chemical industry. Its
predecessor was European Pipeline
Development Company (EPDC).
The
shareholders are BASF AG, Celanese
Chemical Europe GmbH, Shell Nederland Chemie BV, DSM NV,
Rutgers Chemicals AG, Sasol Germany GmbH, Veba Oil Refining
& Petrochemicals GmbH, Westgas GmbH and SABIC Europe.
The
consortium owns the Dutch assets, 100 % of the Belgium asset
management company, EPDC Flanders NV, and 49,9 % of the
German asset management company, Propylenpipeline
Ruhr GmbH (PRG).
Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft Nordrhein-Westfalen (LEG) owns
the remaining 50,1 % but is not liable for any financial
obligation beyond its participation in the company’s capital.
EPC
and the Belgian and German asset management companies
together established a joint venture, European Pipeline
Administration Company (EPAC), that will be responsible for
managing the entire pipeline.
2007/2/26 Platts
EPDC cancels European propylene pipeline project on high costs
The European Pipeline Development Co will not be pursuing plans
to build a new propylene pipeline connecting the ports of
Rotterdam and Antwerp with the German Ruhr area, due to
escalating costs, the EPDC said Monday.
EPDC BV was founded in 2000 with the purpose of developing a 500
kilometers (311 miles) propylene pipeline to connect the
Rotterdam/Antwerp are with the Germany's Ruhr valley in Nord
Rhine-Westphalia.
The share holders of EPDC BV are: BASF AG, Celanese Chemicals
Europe GmbH, Koninklijke DSM NV, Ineos Manufacturing Deutschland
GmbH, SABIC Petrochemicals BV, Sasol Solvents Germany GmbH, Shell
Nederland Chemie BV and Westgas GmbH.
2005/4/11 JEC
SABIC Pipelines and
Infracor to manage new propylene pipeline
http://www.jeccomposites.com/composites-news/473/SABIC-Pipelines-and.html
SABIC Pipelines, the
operator of the northern European ethylene pipeline grid, is to
manage a new propylene pipeline in association with Infracor, a
German company. The European Pipeline Development
Company (EPDC) selected the Dutch-German consortium as having
submitted the best bid in its EU tendering procedure.
Like the existing ethylene pipeline, the new propylene pipeline
will link the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp with a number of key
industrial areas in Belgium, the Netherlands and
Germany, including the Ruhr industrial region. Infracor will manage and
maintain the German section of the pipeline, whilst SABIC
Pipelines will be responsible for the Dutch and Belgian sections.
SABIC Pipelines will also be responsible for operating the
pipeline from a central control room.
Ethylene and propylene are vital raw materials for the chemical
industry, and the pipeline grids carrying the two compounds link
both manufacturers and customers. "The current ethylene
pipeline grid ARG, which was built more than 35
years ago, has given a tremendous boost to the growth of the
chemical industry along its entire route," says Rudi
Demeuse, the Managing Director of the EPDC. "The new
propylene network is likely to have the same effect."
Demeuse believes that it was not just a reputation for safe and
reliable pipeline management that lay behind the selection of
SABIC Pipelines and Infracor. Demeuse: "The new propylene
pipeline will run alongside the existing ethylene pipeline. This
means that SABIC Pipelines and Infracor are already familiar with
local stakeholders, and vice versa. In order to operate a
pipeline reliably, it is absolutely vital to maintain close and
harmonious relations with all the relevant land-owners and other
stakeholders."
Although the EPDC is a partnership consisting of eight chemical
producers, including SABIC itself, other companies will also be
free to make use of the propylene network.
Joop Wessels, the Managing Director of SABIC Pipelines, is
delighted with the new contract. "One of the main arguments
in our favour was the fact that we already had a
well-established, successful partnership with Infracor, together
with whom we've operated the ARG ethylene pipeline grid safely
for 35 years now. Our selection by the EPDC goes to show just how
important this is."
Dirk Jedziny, the Managing Director of Infracor, stresses the
importance of the propylene pipeline for the Ruhr industrial
region. "The chemical industry can grow only if it is
guaranteed an uninterrupted supply of raw materials. Our
pipelines are the industry's arteries."
SABIC Pipelines
SABIC Pipelines BV (based in Urmond, the Netherlands) is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of SABIC Europe. It operates pipelines for
transporting naphtha (PAL), ethylene (ARG) and monovinyl chloride
on behalf of a range of chemical companies. It employs a
workforce of 57.
Infracor
Infracor GmbH (Marl, Germany), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Degussa AG, has been operating the Marl
Chemical Park for eight years and is one of the few
service-providers in the sector to offer the entire range of
services required to operate chemical process plants from a
single source. Its services include energy and utilities, waste
management, technical plant management and maintenance
operations, logistics, telecommunications and IT services,
environmental protection, plant safety, occupational health and
safety as well as facility management, PR & communication.
The Marl Chemical Park covers an area of around 6.5 square
kilometers and is one of the three large chemical sites in
Germany. Over 10,000 employees are employed at the Park in 31
companies.
European Pipeline Development Company
The European Pipeline Development Company BV (EPDC) is a Dutch
company whose shareholders are eight large chemical manufacturers
based in northwest Europe. Its object is to build and operate a
common-carrier network of propylene pipelines linking the
industrial centres of Rotterdam, Antwerp, Tessenderlo, Geleen,
Cologne, Wesseling, Duisburg and Marl. With a total length of
around 500 km, the network is set to cost a total of Euro200
million. The EPDC is based in Venlo, the Netherlands.
Brussels, 12th October
2006
State aid: Commission endorses support of up to Euro45 million
for Bavarian ethylene pipeline
The European Commission has approved under EC Treaty state aid
rules (Article 87) a direct subsidy that the German Land of
Bavaria intends to grant to EPS (Ethylene Pipeline Sud GmbH
& Co. KG),
a consortium of German petrochemical companies, for the
construction of an ethylene pipeline. The planned aid amounts to 29.9% of the total
eligible costs of
the investment, up to a maximum aid level of Euro 44.85 million. The Commission considers that
this project is an important step towards the realisation of a
pan-European ethylene pipeline network, but does not unduly
distort competition.
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: “The Bavarian pipeline will
constitute an important link between existing networks in Western
Europe and ‘inland islands’
in Central Europe.
Now, that Germany has agreed to reduce the aid level from 50% to
30%, I am satisfied that the advantages of the aid will outweigh
a possible distortion of competition. Even aid which is granted
for a valid objective should be limited to what is strictly
necessary.”
In January 2005,
Germany notified the intention of the Land of Bavaria to support
with Euro70 million the construction of an ethylene pipeline by
the EPS consortium. The total construction cost was
evaluated at Euro140 million. The Commission decided in March 2005
to launch an in-depth investigation to establish whether this
grant was compatible with EC Treaty state aid rules (see
IP/05/344). The Commission doubted whether the aid measure struck
the right balance between the common European interest in the
project and the distortion of competition to the detriment of the
chemical industry in the rest of the EU, since the aid appeared
to benefit primarily the petrochemical industry in Bavaria.
The German authorities, supported by the industry, pointed out
that the Bavarian pipeline would form a crucial connection between existing
networks and various ‘islands of
industry’, as well as between Western Europe and
further pipelines in Central and Eastern Europe. They also presented a revised
project with a lower aid amount (Euro44.85 million for revised
investment costs of Euro150 million) and intensity (maximum 29.9%).
The Commission further took into account that the pipeline will
be operated in compliance with the principles of common carrier,
open access, non-discrimination and minimum profit.
The project relates to a 357km long pipeline for the transport of ethylene
between Ludwigshafen (Rheinland-Pfalz) and
Munchsmunster (Bavaria).
Ethylene is a highly hazardous olefin gas derived from petroleum
and used for the production of polymers and, subsequently,
plastics. The beneficiary of the grant will be Ethylene Pipeline
Sud GmbH & Co. KG, a consortium of BASF AG, Borealis
Polymere GmbH, Clariant GmbH, OMV Deutschland GmbH, Ruhr Oel
GmbH, Vinnolit Gmbh&Co KG and WACKER Chemie GmbH, which are all active in Bavaria.
バヴァリア（Bavaria）はバイエルン自由州（Freistaat Bayern）の英語名（イタリア語・スペイン語・ラテン語でも同形）
Borealis Polymere＝IPIC(Abu Dhabi) 65%/OMV(Austria)
35% ：Munich in Burghausen, PE, PP
Clariant Produkte (Deutschland) GmbH ：Gersthofen
Ruhr Oel (BP) operates the plants at the
Scholven(ドイツ西部）
and Munchsmunster (Bavaria) sites.
WACKER：Burghausen plant
Vinnolit
Gmbh&Co KG：①Gendorf plant, ②
on the premises of
Wacker Chemie AG Burghausen plant
