Basf to Expand Antwerp Cracker

The expansion will be accomplished during the next regular turnaround of the plant, scheduled for the fall of 2007, to avoid any additional shutdown. Capacity will be boosted from 800,000 metric tons to 1.1 million metric tons per year, making the plant the largest single-train steam cracker in Europe, BASF says.

The expansion of our cracker in Antwerp—the starting point for our essential value chains—is an investment with a special strategic importance for BASF, says Stefan Marcinowski, the board member at BASF who is responsible for chemicals.

We carefully evaluated our internal demand developments and the external market situation for cracker products and came to the conclusion that 2007 is the right time for the expansion, adds Werner Prtorius, president of BASFs petrochemical division.