Hengyi Industries has signed an implementation agreement for the second phase of development at the Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) refinery and petrochemical project in Brunei.
The company has signed the agreement with the Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam (PA) and the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB).
Hengyi is a joint venture between China’s Zhejiang Hengyi Group Damai, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brunei’s Strategic Development Capital Fund.
The agreement includes works related to the development, implementation, and operations of the Phase 2 development of the refinery and petrochemical complex at the PMB Industrial Park.
Under the terms of the agreement, Hengyi will develop new processing facilities at the complex.
It will see a new 1.65MMTA ethylene cracker with a 2.5/2.2MMTA purified terephthalic acid/polyethylene terephthalate (PTA/PET) plant, along with three new jetties.
The overall capacity of the complex will be expanded to refine 11 million tonnes of crude per year and will be upgraded to produce additional refined petroleum products.
The new refined products including such as ethylene, polyethylene, butadiene, and polypropylene, serve as key raw materials for downstream industries.
Hengyi said that the agreement will support the Downstream Oil and Gas sector in Brunei Darussalam and create more local business opportunities through economic spin-offs.
The Phase 2 development is expected to create more than 2,000 jobs, with 50% of them allocated to locals of Brunei after the facility starts operations in 2029.
In addition to the agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between China’s Zhejiang University (ZJU) and Brunei’s Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).
Pursuant to the MoU, UBD, ZJU and Hengyi will continue to work on training the UBD students on the Chemical and Process Engineering, at UBD and ZJU, for an additional five years.
Upon completion and graduation, the students may begin their careers in the petrochemical industry at Hengyi Industries.
