Rosneft, Mitsui sign agreement to build petrochemical project in Japan

Russia-based Rosneft and Japan-based Mitsui have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop a petrochemical project called Far East Petrochemical Company (FEPCO).

FEPCO was created in 2011 to build the petrochemical project in the Primorsk region near the Pervostroyiteley village in Nakhodka City District, Japan.

The petrochemical complex’s processing capacity is expected to be about 3.4 million tonnes of hydrocarbon feedstock per year, which mainly includes naphtha.

The capacity to produce ethylene and propylene at the unit is planned to be at the rate of 2 million tonnes per year. Operations are expected to start in 2017.

As part of the deal, both the companies will cooperate with each other in engineering design, as well as final investment decision on FEPCO construction.

The MoU signed between Rosneft president and management board chairman Igor Sechin and Mitsui senior executive managing officer and board of directors member Shintaro Ambe, was done so in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Rosneft president and management board chairman Igor Sechin said the company is joining hands with one of the top Japanese companies to develop the largest petrochemical complex in the Far East.

"Implementation of the project in cooperation with Mitsui will enable us to optimize the petrochemical complex and use the best global practices of constructing plants of similar scale," Sechin added.

"Successful implementation of the project will facilitate development of technology intensive production and establishment of a production cluster in the Far East".

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Image: The MoU was signed in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Photo: Courtesy of Rosneft.