Russian petrochemicals major SIBUR Holding could boost petrochemical production by as much as 6% in 2011, the company’s general director, Dmitry Konov, said at a press conference on December 20. Sales revenue, excluding that made from fertilizer and tire production, will increase by 40% to 255 billion roubles, and Konov said he is expecting the sale of the company’s noncore assets, SIBUR-Mineral Fertilizers and SIBUR-Russian Tires, to be finished at the end of 2011 or the end of January 2012. Konov announced the company is considering a plan to build a pyrolysis plant in Tobolsk with the capacity for 1.5 million tons of ethylene per year and into building a pipeline in the Yamal Nenets Autonomous District to transport broad light hydrocarbon fractions from the Purovsky gas condensate plant to the Yuzhno-Balyksky gas processing plant. However, SIBUR does not think it is a good idea to build pipelines to transport hydrocarbon resources from Western Siberia.

Production

SIBUR will increase its petrochemical production this year by 6%, with output at 14.3 million tons, Konov said.

Furthermore, SIBUR plans to increase processing of associated oil-gas this year by 3.6% to 18.1 billion cubic meters, production of dry stripped gas – 3.6% to 15.9 bcm, fertilizer output – 3% to 3 million tons, and tire production – 54% to 13.4 million units.

SIBUR’s investment (excluding costs for acquisitions and injections in companies’ charter capital) will come to 58.6 billion roubles in 2011, up 35% from 2010.

Konov said that the sale of the company’s noncore assets, SIBUR-Mineral Fertilizers and SIBUR-Russian Tires, should be finished at the end of 2011 or the end of January 2012.

He said that SIBUR has decided to sell Perm Mineral Fertilizers and fertilizer production assets in Siberia (Kemerovo Azot and Angar Nitrogenous Fertilizer Plant) to different buyers. “The amount for both [separate] offers has turned out to be better,” Konov said.

Konov said that tire production assets will be divided into several parts and sold to various buyers.

Revenue

The company’s sales revenue, excluding that made from fertilizer and tire production, will increase by 40% to 255 billion roubles. Furthermore, SIBUR’s net debt to EBITDA ratio came to 0.7 at the end of the third quarter.

SIBUR Holding could have revenue of 312 billion roubles in 2011, according to preliminary data, Konov said during a meeting of Tatneftekhiminvest Holding’s board of directors.

Revenue could therefore grow 30%.

In dollars, the company’s revenue could total roughly $10-$11 billion.

“Forecast revenue includes figures for all areas of SIBUR’s business, taking into account planed results for non-core assets,” the company’s press office said. For 2011, SIBUR will invest around $2 billion in development, Konov noted.

Pyrolysis plant

SIBUR is considering a plan to build a pyrolysis plant in Tobolsk with the capacity for 1.5 million tons of ethylene per year, Konov said. The working name for this project is Zapsibneftekhim, he said. The polymer capacity at the complex would be around 2 million tons, including 1.5 million tons of polyethylene and 500 000 tons of polypropylene.

“The project at the Tobolsk site involves pyrolysis of 1.5 million tons of ethylene, based on processing mixtures of ethane and propane and propane and butane with the production of 1.5 million tons of polyethylene and 500 000 tons of polypropylene,” Konov said.

To produce 1.5 million tons of ethylene, the company requires around 2.5 million to 3 million tons of light hydrocarbons. Ethane may account for 600 000 to 700 000 of that, he said.