Borealis has announced that its new naphtha cavern in Porvoo, Finland, has now been safely commissioned. Having invested around €25m in the construction of this facility, Borealis can now source and store naphtha for its Porvoo operations from the global market in a more flexible, cost-efficient, and secure way.
Borealis
First delivery of naptha for Borealis’ Finland operation
The 80,000 square metre cavern can also accommodate renewable naphtha, making it possible for Borealis customers to draw on certified renewable polypropylene and polyethylene, as well as renewable base chemicals, ethylene, propylene and phenol.
Construction of the new cavern began in 2019 and was completed safely, sooner than projected, and significantly under budget. Located 90 metres below ground, the storage volume of the new cavern enables Borealis to source feedstock from various sources and markets.
Martijn van Koten, Borealis Executive Vice President Base Chemicals and Operations, said: “The innovative cavern in Porvoo improves our commercial flexibility and will make a valuable contribution to the achievement of our sustainability goals and the circularity of our products.”
Thomas Van De Velde, Borealis Senior Vice President Hydrocarbons and Energy, added: “Borealis sees investment in our European assets such as Porvoo as a clear sign of our commitment to enhancing the safety, profitability, and sustainability of our operations. Our new cavern makes Borealis more independent and flexible in our sourcing of naphtha while enabling the production of renewable feedstock.”
Naphtha is used in the petrochemical industry to produce olefins in steam crackers. Borealis sources feedstock such as naphtha, butane, propane and ethane from the oil and gas industry, as well as renewable feedstock from the market, and converts these into ethylene and propylene through its olefin units.
