Malaysia’s PrefChem successfully restarted the refinery, downstream plants followed suit

Pengerang Refining and Petrochemical (PRefChem) successfully restarted the 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Johor, Malaysia last week after a more than two-year shutdown following a deadly fire in March 2020.

According to sources close to the company, the downstream petrochemical plant at the same location would be able to come back online soon.

The 1.2 million tons/year cracker is expected to start up in the coming week, which would allow the restart at the PP and PE units in June.

Media reports added that the refinery is currently processing the existing crude from the storage tank and will then receive supply from Saudi Aramco. 

Overview:

PrefChem is a 50%-50% joint venture between Petronas and Saudi Aramco. The complex houses a naphtha cracker that produces 1.2 million tons/year of ethylene and 600,000 tons/year of propylene. 

Downstream units include a 450,000 ton/year homo-PP line, a 450,000 tons/year PP copolymer, and a 400,000 tons/year HDPE unit. The company also owns a C6-based metallocene PE plant with a capacity of 350,000 tons/year.