Petronas to become Southeast Asia’s sole melamine provider

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PETRONAS Chemicals claims it will become Southeast Asia’s sole melamine producer after awarding an engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning (EPCC) contract worth up to €250m (US$279.1m) for a 60,000 t/y plant in Malaysia.

Melamine is an organic compound made from urea, which is used in the manufacture of adhesives, high-end plastics, and industrial coatings.

Under the contract, a consortium of Technip Energies and Dialog E&C will collaborate to develop a greenfield, single-line, melamine plant, as well as the associated interconnections with an existing urea plant. The new plant will be integrated into an existing complex in Gurun, Kedah, Malaysia.

Petronas’ melamine plant will use Casale’s Low Energy Melamine (LEM) technology, which directly converts urea into melamine at high pressure without a catalyst, unlike processes at lower pressures. Casale provides integrated solutions for chemical and fertiliser production. CO2 generated during melamine production will be recycled.

The project aligns with Petronas’s strategy of diversifying its portfolio. The company is expanding into derivatives by adding value to molecules from its existing products such as urea, methanol, and polyolefins.

Engineering and technology company Technip, which holds a 70% stake in the consortium, will be responsible for the overall project management, engineering, procurement, and commissioning. The EPCC contract follows successful front-end engineering design (FEED) by Technip.

Dialog, which holds the remaining 30% stake, will be responsible for construction and pre-commissioning. Dialog serves as an integrated service provider to upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industry.

The consortium is expected to benefit from decades of experience of delivering projects in Malaysia.

The project is targeted to come onstream in 2024.

The contract was awarded by Petronas Chemicals Fertiliser Kedah, a wholly-owned subsidiary of integrated chemicals producer Petronas Chemicals Group. According to Technip it is worth between €50m–250m, while Dialog E&C provided a more specific estimate of RM724m (US$172.3m).