LyondellBasell (Rotterdam, Netherlands) will continue its involvement in an integrated petrochemical complex and gas-separation unit in the Atyrau region of Kazakhstan, partnering with SAT &Co. and KMGEP of Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries Ltd. The site will include three world-scale plants with operations scheduled to begin in 2014. In addition to a world-scale ethane cracker and unit, the site will have one polypropylene and two polyethylene trains, with all utilizing LyondellBasell catalyst technologies. KPI has already completed a feasibility study for the greenfield project, with construction bids to be taken in the near future. In a release on its website, KPI stated that expected annual production capacity of the complex will reach 400,000 tons of low- and high-density polyethylene; 400,000 tons of linear low-density polyethylene, and 400,000 tons of polypropylene.

Created by government edict in June 2006, KPI initially enlisted Basell International Holdings B.V. as an adviser on the project in Western Kazakhstan, located on the Caspian Sea. Oil & Gas Eurasia reports that the petrochemical complex will likely be supplied with raw materials from the Tengiz, Karachaganak, and Kashagan fields in Western Kazakhstan. Propane-dehydrogenation gives the site a natural gas-based path to propylene and polypropylene.

Ten days before this announcement, Lyondell reported that its debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing package had been approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. That move gives the North American arm access to an additional $1.083 billion of the DIP financing, as well as providing an additional €260 million to LyondellBasell entities organized outside the U.S. The package includes a $6.5 billion term loan that’s composed of $3.25 billion in new loans and a $3.25 billion roll-up of existing loans, as well as a $1.54 billion asset-backed lending facility.

LyondellBasell’s U.S. operations and one of its European holding companies voluntarily filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization on Jan. 6. In a release, LyondellBasell Industries CEO Volker Trautz said the loans “will support the uninterrupted operation of our businesses worldwide, giving confidence to our many suppliers and allowing us to continue serving the needs of our global customers.” On Feb. 26, the same court granted a 60-day injunction to prevent some creditors from proceeding against LyondellBasell’s parent company. —[email protected]