On 15 January, the COSCO SHIPPING vessel “Zhi Yuan Kou” delivered a colossal furnace, towering 60 meters high, from Thailand to the port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium.
This furnace is a critical component of INEOS’s Project ONE, a state-of-the-art ethane cracker designed to transform ethane into ethylene—an essential building block in the chemical industry. Ethylene serves as a raw material for a wide array of applications, including automotive parts, medical devices, and sustainable energy solutions.
Accompanying the furnace were several pipe racks to support pipelines and equipment. These deliveries form just a small part of the larger effort. In June, a splitter—a key project component—was also unloaded at the PSA Breakbulk terminal by Gosselin, which oversees logistics and storage for Project ONE.
Gosselin’s role includes managing transportation, on-site movements, assembly, inspections, and value-added services.
Furthermore, the ethane cracker, expected to become operational by mid-2026, marks the largest investment in the European chemical sector since 2000, promising around 450 new jobs. Notably, it will produce half the CO2 emissions of the least polluting 10% of existing crackers. The foundation stone for this milestone project was laid on 15 December 2022.
