McDermott International, Inc. (Houston; www.mcdermott.com) has been awarded a sizeable ($1–50 million) technology contract by Ningbo Union King Polyester Material Limited for the technology license, process design engineering, and operator training services for a large-scale, grassroots 1,600,000 ton/yr p-xylene plant at Ningbo Union King’s petrochemicals facility in Ningbo, China. Lummus Technology is the exclusive licensor of BP’s p-xylene technology, which offers p-xylene production at purities of 99.8% with lower energy consumption and lower capital costs compared to more traditional p-xylene technologies, says the company.
“Paraxylene is a critical component in various polymers such as polyester and thus an important piece of the worldwide petrochemicals market,” said Leon de Bruyn, senior vice president of McDermott’s Lummus Technology business. “This large-scale p-xylene plant will help meet growing petrochemicals demand, particularly in China.”
This award was reflected in McDermott’s first quarter 2019 backlog.