Uhde GmbH of Dortmund, Germany, has been awarded a contract from Liwa Petrochemical
Company LLC of Oman to build a new ethylene dichloride (EDC) complex in Sohar, some 200 km north-west of the capital Muscat. The EDC complex, which will have an annual capacity of some 300,000 tonnes, will include the construction of a chlor-alkali electrolysis plant.

Uhde's scope of supplies and services will cover the licence, basic engineering and supply of equipment as well as training the operating personnel and assisting in the commissioning activities. The contract is worth some US$23 million. The plants are scheduled for completion in 2008.

For the chlor-alkali electrolysis plant Uhde will use its proprietary membrane process with the latest generation of its single-element membrane cells. The process is a modular concept, which is both extremely environment-friendly and energy-saving. The EDC plant will be based on the innovative and proven Vinnolit technology. Having already built plants with a total annual capacity of 6.7 million tonnes of EDC, Uhde is the market leader in this field with a market share of over 40%.

"We hope this contract will form the basis for a successful start to a long-term partnership between our two companies and are convinced that Uhde will supply us with the best technology," said
Dr. Mohammed Al Rumhy, Chairman of Liwa Petrochemical Company and Minister for Oil and Gas, upon the signing of the contract on May 31, 2005, in Muscat.

The EDC, which is planned for export, is an intermediate for the production of vinyl chloride (VCM).
VCM is the feedstock for PVC, which has a wide range of applications in the manufacture of pipes/tubes, casement sections, cable coating and containers.