M&As: BP ties up with Chinese PET producer; Borealis acquires full ownership of Novealis jv with Nova Chemicals

Oil firm BP has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Resources Chemical Innovative Materials Holdings Limited (CRC) , and has agreed to invest in and become a shareholder of CRC, which is a major producer of PET in China and a purified terephthalaic acid (PTA) customer of BP’s.

According to BP, the companies under the newly signed deal will look to strengthen their cooperation on PTA sourcing, work together along the polyester value chain and seek other collaborative opportunities.

“BP and CRC already have a close and longstanding relationship and we look forward to building on it further,” Luis Sierra, CEO for BP’s Global Aromatics Unit, said.

BP noted that China is home to the company’s largest PTA production site, which is located in Zhuhai, Guangdong province and boasts a capacity of 2.4 million tonnes/year. BP has also recently developed an enhanced recycling technology, BP Infinia, that enables currently unrecyclable PET plastic waste to be transformed back into new, virgin-quality feedstocks. It is constructing a pilot plant to prove the technology.

Established in 2007, CRC is a leading producer of non-fibre-grade polyester. With production centres based in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, and Zhuhai, Guangdong province, its manufacturing facilities have a capacity of 2.2 million tonnes/year of PET. CRC is also exploring development of advanced downstream products, such as polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG).

“BP is CRC’s important strategic partner in the polyester value chain,” commented Zhu Zhenda, CRC managing director. “Through deepened cooperation, we anticipate effective integration of our resources, bringing advantages for both partners. We will work together to develop innovative technologies, new products and applications for our customers in future.”

Meanwhile, in other news, Austrian chemical firm Borealis and Canada’s Nova Chemicals Corporation have announced that Borealis has completed the acquisition of Nova Chemicals’ 50% ownership interest in Novealis Holdings.

Formed in 2018, Novealis is the joint venture between affiliates of Borealis and Nova Chemicals, which subsequently formed a 50/50 joint venture with an affiliate of Total S.A. to launch Bayport Polymers (Baystar) in Houston, Texas, US.

“This acquisition supports our global growth ambitions,” commented Alfred Stern, Borealis CEO. “Acquiring Nova Chemicals’ share in Novealis will allow us to further increase our footprint in North America, enabling us to better serve our customers in this region with our value-add BorstarÒ technology and its related products.”

(PRA)

Subscribe to Get the Latest Updates from PRA  Please click here