Borouge: Expansion Projects to Increase Production Capacity to 13.8 Million Tonnes by 2030

Borouge International plans to increase its annual production capacity across 30 sites worldwide to 13.8 million tonnes by 2030. The expansion programme focuses on increasing ethylene production capacity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and investing in polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) production facilities in the UAE and Europe. On 4 November 2026, the company reported progress on several expansion projects.

Ethane Steam Cracker Expansions in the United Arab Emirates
Borouge International is preparing the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the expansion of its second ethane steam cracker (EU2). The project is expected to increase annual ethylene production capacity by 230,000 tonnes. Linde Engineering, the technology licensor for the existing cracker and the contractor responsible for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) of the expansion, began early engineering activities in 2026.

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For the third ethane steam cracker (EU3), Linde Engineering has received a Letter of Award for the pre-front-end engineering and design (pre-FEED) study. The additional ethylene produced by the planned expansion is intended to be marketed as a basic chemical. Borouge International did not disclose the planned capacity increase or a project schedule.

The "Borouge 4" expansion project is also underway at the Ruwais site in the UAE. The project is jointly owned by ADNOC and OMV and operated by Borouge plc. Once fully ramped up, the new facilities are expected to provide an additional 1.4 million tonnes per year of polyethylene production capacity.

Propylene Capacity Expansion and Polypropylene Projects in Europe
The second propane dehydrogenation (PDH2) plant in Kallo, Belgium, with a nameplate production capacity of approximately 750,000 tonnes per year, has reached mechanical completion. Commissioning is scheduled for the first half of 2027. The plant is designed to increase propylene production capacity, providing additional feedstock for polypropylene production.

In Burghausen, Germany, construction of a new polypropylene production plant based on "Borstar Nextension" technology began in September 2026. The project is expected to increase the site's commercially available polypropylene production capacity, although no specific additional annual capacity was disclosed. A specialty polypropylene compounding plant has also been inaugurated at the Schwechat site in Austria. According to the company, approximately EUR 100 million was invested in expanding and modernising the site.

The expansion programme covers both upstream monomer production, including ethylene and propylene, and downstream polymer production, including polyethylene and polypropylene. While the EU2 and EU3 steam cracker expansion projects remain in the engineering and contracting stages, the projects in Kallo and Schwechat are at more advanced stages of implementation.

More information: www.borougeinternational.com

Borouge Group International AG, Vienna, Austria

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