SINGAPORE, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Jurong Aromatics Corporation(JAC) could start trial runs at its $2.4 billion petrochemicalcomplex in Singapore by April, sources close to the company saidon Monday.
The project includes a 100,000 barrels per day (bpd)condensate splitter and an aromatics complex and it will bemechanically complete in February, the sources said.
The company spokesman declined to comment.
The splitter, one of three to start operation in Asia thisyear, will tighten supply of condensate, a super light oilproduced from gas fields, while adding more oil products andpetrochemicals in Asia, trade sources said.
Glencore, a shareholder and one of its condensatesuppliers, has bought a cargo of March-loading deodorised fieldcondensate (DFC) from Qatar for the plant's trial runs, theysaid. The trading firm could also supply Alen condensate fromEquatorial Guinea to the JAC plant, one source said.
JAC had signed contracts to buy 50,000 bpd of condensatefrom BP Plc and 25,000 bpd each from Glencore and SouthKorea's SK Energy, a unit of SK Innovation, forseven years once the plant starts in 2014.
In 2011, JAC secured annual orders worth an estimated $2.2billion from 11 buyers for its oil products and aromatics forseven years from 2014. The buyers included Glencore, BP Plc, SKEnergy and Chinese polyester maker Jiangsu Sanfangxiang Group.
The plant will produce 1.5 million tonnes per year (tpy) ofaromatics and 2.7 million tpy of petroleum products a year, JAChad said. The oil products will comprise 783,000 tpy of jetfuel, 662,000 tpy of ultra-low sulphur diesel, 647,000 tpy ofnaphtha, 283,000 tpy of naphtha and 195,000 tpy of fuel oil.
SK Group and Jiangsu Sanfangxiang Group are the project'slargest shareholders.
The other shareholders include Glencore, Arovin Ltd,Shefford Investments, Thai KK Industry, Singapore's EDBInvestments and India's Essar Group.
BP (BP.)
Glencore (GLEN)
