Germany’s long-delayed 400,000 tonne/year ethylene pipeline to connect BASF’s petrochemicals hub at Ludwigshafen in Rhineland-Palatinate with chemical sites in Bavaria has been completed.
The 370km pipeline has been built in accordance with high technological standards, ensuring the safe and environmentally responsible shipment of ethylene. Court cases and objections delayed the project by about four years, driving costs up to approximately EUR 200 million. The project was estimated to cost about EUR 150 million in 2006.
The pipeline connects Ludwigshafen with chemical producers at sites in Munchsmunster, Gendorf and Burghausen in Bavaria, where some plants could become uncompetitive without connection to the ethylene pipeline.