INDUSTRY
Saved – SABIC ’ s Olefins plant looked doomed but could now play a key green role . Image by Stephen Hornsey .
LET ’ S CRACK ON !
Iconic SABIC Cracker back from the brink and set for conversion to net zero
WORDS : DAVE ALLAN
E very story has a darkest hour . In the battle to save the Teesside operations of global chemical giant SABIC , Daren Smith can vividly recall the very worst minute . It was the moment when he reluctantly accepted he had lost a long-running fight .
SABIC UK ’ s site director has good reason to remember the date as well as the details . It was February 16 2021 . The previous day had marked the second anniversary of losing his wife to breast cancer .
Daren took a walk along the Parkway , alongside SABIC ’ s Wilton Centre headquarters , near Redcar . It was a habitual walk – “ a pause for reflection ” – but this time it was different .
As he walked solemnly along the busy road , he pulled out his mobile phone and called his mentor , Paul Booth , a predecessor as site director .
“ Paul ,” said Daren . “ I ’ ve lost the site . It ’ s gone .”
And yet in October last year , news emerged that not only had SABIC ’ s Teesside operations been saved but its iconic Olefins 6 plant at Wilton – fondly known as the Cracker – could be the potential focal point of a new green revolution to create a net zero ethylene production facility .
It completed a remarkable turnaround of fortunes . Just months earlier , all hope was lost . The closure of SABIC ’ s UK operations seemed most likely , resulting in a catastrophic loss of livelihood for hundreds , if not thousands , of Teessiders .
Now the incredible story can be told of how pending disaster was transformed into hope and investment in the future .
Commissioned by petrochemical giant ICI in 1979 , the Cracker has long been an instantly recognisable sight on Teesside ’ s skyline , especially when lit up at night , catching the eye of motorists as they drive along the Parkway .
Fed raw material gases and liquids , the plant has for the past 43 years “ cracked ” apart their components at temperatures of around 1,000 degrees centigrade before cooling them to below -180C to produce ethylene , propylene and butadiene .
These are the building blocks that have allowed the chemical and plastics industries to create a wide range of everyday items , from food packaging
94 | Tees Business