Borealis to halt work on cracker, PE project in Kazakhstan

New York — Austria-based petrochemicals producer Borealis has decided not proceed with a project to develop an integrated cracker and polyethylene unit in Kazakhstan, the company said Tuesday

The decision not to proceed with the project was taken after a "thorough assessment of all aspects of the potential venture," the company said.

The project had was also "impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the increased uncertainty of future market assumptions," the company said.

Borealis had signed a Joint Development Agreement with the United Chemical Company in 2018 on the project to construct an ethane cracker and two PE units with a total capacity of 1.25 million mt/year.

UCC had placed the cost of the project at around $6.8 billion.

Borealis CEO Alfred Stern had previously told S&P Global Platts that the high availability of ethane feedstock in Kazakhstan was one key reason behind the project's feasibility study.