Work starts on Russia’s biggest PET plant

Work began early this year on the 240,000 tpa PET facility, the fourth plant so far to be established for the resin in Russia. When complete, it will be twice the size of the existing second ranked unit at Blagoveschensk operated by the Russian company Polief.

Around 40% of the new plant’s PET output is destined for Russian domestic use, while the rest is due to be exported.

Technology and the automated equipment to produce PET granules at the Kaliningrad facility are being supplied by German company Uhde Inventa-Fischer of Berlin.

Apart from the Polief plant, Russia has two other PET production units: the 52,500 tpa Sibur-PETF operation in Tver and another one in the Moscow region. Polief has plans to expand its PET capacity up to 620,000 tpa and the raw material PTA to 600,000 tpa by 2012.

Domestic production still lags behind Russia’s growing PET market which continues to be supplied from China and South Korea where prices undercut those of Europe.

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