AG&P Industrial debuts in EU with cracker project

Batangas-based Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific Company of Manila Inc. has debuted in the European Union, having clinched a contract worth more than P3 billion to supply preassembled pipe racks and support structures for the bloc’s petrochemical industry.

Also known as AG&P Industrial, the company is the construction and manufacturing arm of diversified firm AG&P International Holdings Pte. Ltd., which is based in Singapore.

AG&P Industrial said in a statement it has completed the fabrication and shipment of the first batch of what are technically termed as outside battery limit (OSBL) modules, which have a total weight of 1,432.47 metric tons.

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The OSBL modules are meant for the area outside the physical boundary of an industrial manufacturing plant where the secondary process equipment and facilities are located. AG&P made these under contract with the London-based INEOS, the fourth-largest chemical company in the world.

“We are honored to be selected by INEOS for its flagship project and for the opportunity for AG&P Industrial to enter Europe for the very first time in our over a century of existence,” AG&P Industrial president Alex Gamboa said.

Gamboa, who is also the firm’s managing director of global business development, said INEOS chose AG&P Industrial from among the top 15 fabrication yard operators globally.

He said AG&P Industrial qualified for the job, “with necessary certifications and stringent European industry standards of construction.”

Europe’s best

The contract is related to the INEOS Project One, which involves the construction and operation of “the most environmentally sustainable” cracker in Europe.

In industry parlance, cracking refers to the breaking down of complex molecules into simpler ones.

The INEOS project is touted to become a plant that will have the lowest carbon footprint in Europe, three times lower than emissions from average steam crackers in the region.

In an interview with the Inquirer, Gamboa said that the first shipment of their preassembled units headed to Belgium for the INEOS Project One was shipped from their Batangas yard a few weeks ago. INQ