Borouge and Borealis, leading providers of innovative, value-creating plastics solutions in the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe, celebrated Borouge’s five years of production.

Borouge is a Borealis joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc). Vienna-based Borealis, Europe’s second largest producer of plastics, is owned by International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) (65 per cent) and OMV (35 per cent). 
CEO of Borouge Harri Bucht said the five-year production milestone at his plant in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, was an extraordinary success for a facility conceived so recently, and represented a major achievement for the polyolefins industry in the Middle East as a whole. He was speaking at Arabplast 2007 with Gilles Rochas, vice president for moulding at Borealis, Harald Hammer, CEO Borouge Pte Ltd, Borouge’s marketing arm, and Hubert Puchner, its outgoing CEO.
Borouge has produced a total of around 2.3 million tonnes of polyethylene, providing innovative solutions for customers in the infrastructure, automotive and advanced packaging sectors.  To date, enough polyethylene for pipe applications has been made at Ruwais to stretch a typical 110 mm diameter water pipe six times round the world.
The Ruwais complex was the first bimodal polyethylene unit in the Middle East, beginning production in December 2001 and exceeding design capacity within five months.  ISO 9001 certification was achieved after just nine months and since then Borouge has become a benchmark for operational excellence in the region.  It has been at the forefront of adopting best practice in health, safety and environment, achieving the ISO 14001 certification in December 2006.
The company is implementing ‘Borouge 2’, the multi-billion dollar expansion of its production facilities, which will come on stream in 2010. The project commenced recently with the signing of an agreement with Linde Engineering to build a new ethylene cracker.  This world-scale project will triple existing production capacity to 2 million tonnes per year, including, for the first time, polypropylene.  This increased output will open new markets for Borouge and is expected to make a strong contribution to the growth of downstream industries in Abu Dhabi and the wider region.
In his remarks, Hammer said: “Five years of production is a major achievement for Borouge.  It underlines the extraordinary progress that has been made since our inception so recently.  Our next phase of expansion will ensure we continue to make a difference to our customers and better serve our growing markets in the Middle East and Asia Pacific.”
Meanwhile, OMV, Central Europe’s leading oil and gas group, and its core shareholder International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi are planning to incorporate Agrolinz Melamine International (AMI), one of the leading producers of melamine and plant nutrients, into Borealis.
OMV and IPIC each hold 50 per cent of AMI. The final decision will be made in the course of the first half of 2007, said a senior official.
As a holding company, Borealis will provide excellent support for AMI’s further international expansion. AMI’s headquarters will remain in Linz (Upper Austria).
“The bundling of AMI’s expansion strategy into Borealis will be a good solution for Borealis and AMI, whose businesses complement each other. Thanks to Borealis’ ownership structure, AMI’s future development will continue to be supported and developed by experienced strategic partners,” said OMV deputy chairman and Borealis supervisory board chairman Gerhard Roiss.
For OMV this has the advantage that its strategic focus on its core business will be further strengthened, while at the same time OMV will profit from the growing plastics market enhanced by the assets of AMI via its investment in Borealis.
Overall, this measure constitutes the last step in AMI’s strategic repositioning, which started in May 2005 with IPIC’s acquisition of 50 per cent of the company.
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi-based Borouge and Borealis signed the Responsible Care Global Charter at the inaugural Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) Forum in Dubai.
 “This joint action demonstrates an ongoing commitment to further their leadership position in health, safety and environmental (HSE) management, and advancing product stewardship and sustainable development,” a joint statement said.
“This is the first time two leading companies in the Middle East and Europe are partnering to advance Responsible Care in their respective businesses and to share best practices and approaches. Borouge is also the first company in the Gulf region committing to the charter,” it added.
“The charter principles and commitments are intrinsic to Borouge and Borealis’ value creation through innovation strategy and our continuous drive for operational excellence,” said John Taylor, Borealis CEO, speaking at the GPCA forum. “It provides a comprehensive framework for us to continuously improve our environmental, health and safety performance. Additionally, the Responsible Care Global Charter encourages companies to engage in dialogue with people to understand and address their concerns and expectations.”
“Borouge is proud to be the first company in the Gulf region to be a signatory of the Responsible Care Global Charter,” said Bucht.
“We aim to be the leader in health, safety and environment and the signature of this charter with Borealis provides further momentum in achieving this goal. Our marketing and production operations are fully committed to improving product stewardship and furthering our sustainable development initiatives.”
The Responsible Care Global Charter was launched by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) in Dubai in January 2006.