The expansion project of the Repsol Petrochemical Complex, in Sines, in the Setúbal district, for a value of more than 657 million euros, obtained a favorable Environmental Impact Statement (DIA), it was announced this Monday.
According to the company, in a statement, the Portuguese Environment Agency issued the DIA “with a favorable meaning” to the expansion project of the Sines Industrial Complex, considered of Potential National Interest (PIN).
The broadcast of the DIA”It is one of the most anticipated milestones”, since “it allows us to advance to a new stage of the expansion project”, highlights the director of the Alba project, Juan Lorenzo Boix Arenas, quoted in the statement.
We are taking a further step towards the decarbonisation of Repsol and, consequently, of the Portuguese economy”, said the official, adding that this project “will allow Repsol to increase exports and reduce imports”.
Once finished, the Alba project will allow “the local supply of high value-added polymers to a wide range of national export clusters, from automotive components to medical devices, including food products”, he highlighted.
According to the company, the expansion project of the Repsol petrochemical complex in Sines, “corresponds to the largest industrial investment made in Portugal in the last 10 yearswith a value of more than 657 million euros”.
In the construction phase “it will employ an average of 550 jobs, reaching a peak of more than 1,000 workers” and, when it comes into operation, the company foresees a “net increase in staff of about 75 direct jobs and about 300 indirect”. .
In the statement, the project manager also highlighted the “collaboration of national and local authoritiesthat “it has been fundamental” in the licensing process and indicated that the expansion works of the complex will begin soon.
The project is expected to start soon, and it is expected to end in 2025, with the start of its operations”, he concluded.
The Alba project will build two factories that use the ethylene and propylene produced and which are commonly exported.
The two factories will use LyondellBasell Industries’ Univation Unipol PE and Spherizone technologies, and thus hope to transform ethylene into high-density polyethylene (used in pipes, plastic packaging for hygienic or food products, or films) or into high-density polyethylene. density (used in foams, electrical cables).
With this usage, Repsol Polímeros plans to increase its production to 850,000 tons per yearwith 310,000 tons to be exported through the port of Sines, 220,000 tons to Spain, 220,000 tons to the rest of Europe and 100,000 tons to Portugal.
Source: Observadora
