Petronas Chemicals Ethylene, Sdn. Bhd. Kertih — Malaysia

Petronas Chemicals Ethylene, Sdn. Bhd. Kertih is a petrochemical plant in Malaysia. Its listed capacity is 1,040,000 t of ethylene. Petrochemical plants crack hydrocarbons at very high temperatures to produce ethylene, propylene and other building-block chemicals — one of the most heat-intensive industrial processes. It is operated by Petroliam Nasional Bhd. By capacity it ranks #2 among 3 petrochemical plants in Malaysia. It emits about 2,132,943 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 5.0% of the CO₂e from the 39 facilities in Malaysia that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 57% above the national median for this sector.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-731961.

In context: how this facility compares

At 1,040,000 t of ethylene, Petronas Chemicals Ethylene, Sdn. Bhd. Kertih is around the median petrochemical plant in Malaysia (1,040,000 t of ethylene). Subsector: petrochemical-steam-cracking. As petrochemical plant, it requires high process heat (typically 300–800°C) for its core industrial operations, supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion. Petrochemical plants crack hydrocarbons at very high temperatures to produce ethylene, propylene and other building-block chemicals — one of the most heat-intensive industrial processes.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 2,132,943 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest petrochemical plants in Malaysia

Listed capacity (t of ethylene), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by Petroliam Nasional Bhd. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Petronas Chemicals Ethylene, Sdn. Bhd. Kertih sits in a tropical rainforest climate zone (Köppen Af), at 4.6°N in the northern hemisphere.

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1236 W/m² to ambient — roughly 0.95× the loss at a 20 °C reference. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #2 largest of 3 petrochemical plants in Malaysia by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

• Petronas Penapisan Terengganu Refinery · Refinery · 1,079,111 t CO₂
• Malaysian Refining Company Melaka I Refinery · Refinery · 408,283 t CO₂
• Eastern Steel Kemaman plant · Steel Plant · 4,167,355 t CO₂
• Alliance Steel Kuantan plant · Steel Plant · 5,127,624 t CO₂
• YTL Bukit Sagu Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 480,995 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 4.58974, 103.45388. View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions