AI specialist to help build net-zero plan for USD-5bn aromatics plant

AI-driven capital planning technology provider ACTUAL has taken the task to help establish a scientifically and technologically credible net-zero investment plan for a multi-billion dollar integrated condensate splitter and aromatics complex in Malaysia.

Developed by Singapore’s ChemOne Group, the USD-5-billion (EUR 4.6bn) Pengerang Energy Complex (PEC) is planned to be built in the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) in Johor, Malaysia, directly opposite Singapore. It will be producing 2.3 million tonnes of aromatics and associated products, along with 3.9 million tonnes of energy products per year. As a by-product, the facility is also expected to produce 50,000 metric tonnes of hydrogen for use in a downstream renewable fuels project.

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Under the newly-signed agreement between ACTUAL and low-carbon petrochemical plants operator New ASEAN Energy (NAE), the two companies will work together to further improve PEC's environmental performance and move it towards becoming one of the first net-zero facilities around the world. They will investigate several strategies, including, but not limited to, the addition of renewables to power facility operations, blue and green hydrogen production, native green feedstocks for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), carbon capture technologies, and alternative sources for industrial heat such as geothermal.

PEC already has off-take agreements worth over USD 102 billion with several blue-chip energy providers, including Equinor, Chevron, PTT, and Mitsui.

According to an announcement from September 2023, NAE was set up “to acquire an equity interest in a petrochemical complex in Southeast Asia.” That same statement says that NAE had partnered with ChemOne Group to aid the implementation of the strategy.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.922)