1st August saw the company move to a new head office in Venlo in Netherlands, and there are subsidiaries in Belgium (EPDC Flanders) and Germany (PRG) who will be responsible for the asset in each country. The history of the project goes back to 1998 when an initiative between DSM, Veba, Hüls, and BP Refining and Petrochemicals started looking at the possibility of constructing a propylene pipeline in NW Europe. European producers and consumers of the chemical were invited to join a development company, and in September, 2000, EPDC (European Pipeline Development Co) was founded by 15 companies who, following consolidation of the petrochemical industry in NW Europe, have now become the eight founding project shareholders (BASF , BP, Celanese Chemicals Europe, Koninklijke DSM, Sabic Hydrocarbons, Sasol Germany, Shell Nederland Chemie, and Westgas , a subsidiary of Degussa). From Rotterdam to Antwerp EPDC will lease capacity in an existing 80-km propylene pipeline from Shell that currently runs from Pernis (Rotterdam) to Antwerp. The new pipeline section (about 400km in length) will be built from Antwerp via Tessenderloo, Geleen, and Cologne to Moers, Oberhausen, and Marl, and will transport polymer-grade propylene, operating at 98.5bar. In Duisburg, EPDC will create a barge-loading station with buffer storage to deliver propylene at the eastern end of the system, while existing independent terminals in Antwerp will be connected to the system to create access to the sea ports of both Rotterdam and Antwerp. Propylene is mainly (70%) produced by steam cracking of crude oil products. The West European market in 2001 was approximately 14.7million tons, half of which used in the area served by the new pipeline. The end uses of the material are very varied, ranging from the automotive industry to the textile industry. Finance for the Euro200-million project has been set up through Fortis Bank Global Energy Group in Rotterdam as sole arranger and underwriter of a 10-year Euro150-million facility for the construction and operation of the pipeline. Various governments along the route are also providing subsidies. Detailed engineering and contract supervision services are being undertaken by E-on Engineering, following a joint EU and German public tendering process, and detailed design has commenced, with design surveying of the route, which includes third-party data, crossing surveys, and soil investigations, being developed. Given the routeing of the system through populated areas in the three countries, a great emphasis is being put on the use of quantitative risk assessments and safety studies to develop the safest-possible design. EPDC hopes to start construction during Q3, 2005; the system will be commissioned as sections become available, and the pipeline is scheduled to be fully operational by Q2, 2007.