BOI Okays JG Summit’s Php 16-B Petrochemical Projects

The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved three projects of Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings, Inc. (JGSHI) for petrochemical manufacturing facilities worth Php 15.8 billion.

JG Summit Petrochemical Corp. (JGSPC), a wholly-owned unit of JGSHI, invested two pioneering projects.

The first project is worth Php 4.2 billion for manufacturing of butadiene and raffinate, which the company targets to annually produce 70,000 metric tons (MT) of butadiene and 89,000 MT of raffinate.

JGSPC is also investing Php 3.0 billion to produce other petrochemicals such as benzene, toluene, mixed xylene, C8+/C9+ Cut and non-aromatics.

Target annual production for these petrochemical products include 126,000 MT for benzene, 76,000 MT for toluene, 46,000 MT for mixed xylene, 18,000 MT for C8+/C9+ Cut , and 29,000 MT for non-aromatics.

BOI also approved the Php 8.6-billion investment of JG Summit Olefins Corp. (JGSOC) for the expansion of its naphtha cracker facility to produce Polymer Grade Ethylene, Polymer Grade Propylene, Mixed C4 and Pyrolysis (Py) gas.

With the expansion project, JGSOC aims to manufacture additional 160,002 MT of ethylene, 51,000 MT of propylene, 26,418 MT of Mixed C4, and 78,876 MT of Py gas yearly.

These three BOI-approved projects of JGSHI will be located in its petrochemical complex in Batangas City.

All projects, located in JGSHI’s petrochemical complex in Batangas City, are expected to be fully operational by 2021 and will generate 133 new jobs.

JGSHI units aim to export petrochemical products to China, South Korea, and other Asian markets.

“We very much welcome investment projects such as these. The company’s initiative and innovation in expanding their petrochemical plants is definitely a big boost to the manufacturing industry and its sub-sectors,” Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said.

JGSPC currently operates two polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) plants with a combined annual capacity of 320,000 MT of PE and 180,000 MT of PP.

JGSOC started the operation of the naphtha cracker plant in 2014. This is also the country’s first and only naphtha cracker facility. (PNA) RMA/KMC