|
Visitors to Middle East Electricity Exhibition 2011 in Dubai experienced firsthand why wire and cable manufacturers across the globe are choosing advanced insulation, semi-conductive and jacketing materials from Borouge and Borealis, leading providers of innovative, value creating plastics solutions to the global wire and cable industry.
Borouge and Borealis commit to the increasing global demand for XLPE through their current and future investments. Borealis’ high pressure LDPE (low density polyethylene) plant in Sweden was officially inaugurated in June 2010 and a similar plant producing 350,000 tonnes of LDPE per year will be built in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, as part of the Borouge 3 expansion project. This investment in LDPE production planned by mid of 2014 spearheads Borouge’s ability to also manufacture innovative XLPE solutions for the global wire and cable market.
Innovative plastics solutions used for major Abu Dhabi project
Borouge and Borealis will provide polymers to Prysmian, a worldwide leading player in the energy and telecommunications cables industry, for the extra high voltage power cables to be manufactured for the Bahia and Saadiyat Grid in Abu Dhabi, UAE. This is a 400 kV power extra high voltage transmission turnkey project being developed by the Abu Dhabi Transmission and Dispatch Company (TRANSCO) as part of the significant infrastructure development within the city.
TRANSCO Abu Dhabi has appointed Prysmian Cables and Systems for the execution of the project at an estimated cost of € 250 million (approx 1.15 billion AED). The 230 Km cable length for this project will be manufactured by Prysmian with the aid of Borouge and Borealis’ materials, which address the project’s critical demands for reliable, consistent and long-term performance.
The cables for the project will be taken underground with the Superclean™ insulation and Supersmooth™ semi conductive compound from Borealis that will replace the existing overhead lines resulting in a significantly lower environmental impact. These highly advanced plastics solutions are manufactured by Borealis in Europe and distributed by Borouge in the United Arab Emirates.
The new power link is of critical importance for Abu Dhabi’s power transmission system as it will connect the Bahia and Saadiyat Grid Stations with some of the most prestigious infrastructure and real estate development areas including Yas Island, the location of the new F1 racing track and the Saadiyat Island’s Abu Dhabi Cultural District that will also host global iconic museums like the Louvre and Guggenheim.
Superclean cable materials are manufactured using advanced procedures to ensure they are free from contamination and that their cleanliness is maintained to the point of delivery. The performance of these insulation materials is complemented when used in conjunction with Supersmooth for the semiconductive layers of XLPE cable and with a Borstar® grade for the jacketing. That ensures better friction resistance to be pulled into the ducts, lower shrinkage and excellent ESCR also in seawater.
“Cable durability is especially important for those customers serving the high voltage cable market where the need for cables that deliver consistent, high performance under extreme electrical stresses is crucial,” comments Michael Bjorn, Borouge’s Vice President for Wire and Cable. “Also, we are excited about the addition of XLPE production capacity at our polyolefins plant in the Middle East which will allow us to satisfy even more the growing global customer demand for wire and cable products.”
|
