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

Recently, the SABIC PKN MTBE project in Saudi Arabia, EPC-contracted by China Chemical Tianchen, achieved mechanical completion 4 days ahead of schedule, continuing the project’s excellent record of on-time completion. This project is a major cooperation project between the two parties. It was signed in November 2022 and commenced in December. It mainly expands and upgrades the existing 700,000 t/y MTBE unit. After reaching full capacity, production capacity will increase to 1,000,000 t/y, making it the world’s largest single-unit MTBE plant.

As SABIC’s first project to adopt its own proprietary technology, the revamped unit delivers significant benefits: it can use by-product low-pressure steam to generate 10 MW of electricity, reduce annual catalyst consumption by about 6,300 tons, and extend the start-up/shutdown cycle 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 prefabrication ratio, and implementing measures such as the “package leader system” and “area leader system,” they ensured progress and won high recognition from the owner, laying a solid foundation for deepening engagement in the Saudi and Middle East markets.