BP licenses PTA production technology to India firm JBF Petrochemicals
BP and JBF Petrochemicals have signed an agreement for licensing of BP’s latest-generation purified terephthalic acid (PTA) technology, the companies said Monday.
JBF intends to build a 1.25 million tpy unit at the Special Economic Zone in Mangalore, India, to produce PTA, the primary feedstock for polyesters used in textiles and packaging.
JBF expects the Mangalore plant to come on stream at the end of 2014.
“This first third party, non-affiliate, license recognizes the quality of BP’s technology and builds on the excellent relationship between our companies,” said Nick Elmslie, CEO of BP’s global petrochemicals business.
“JBF is a world-class polyester producer and I’m proud that they’ve chosen BP’s leading technology,” he continued. “Our PTA technology has significantly lower capital and operating costs compared with conventional PTA plants and is more energy efficient, uses less water, and produces less solid waste than its competitors.
“We have invested significantly in our proprietary technology and there are two routes to monetize this; one is through investment and one is through licensing.
“We have decided that the maximum value to BP will come both from investing in projects such as our Zhuhai 3 project in Guangdong, China and through licensing.”
The PTA market has continued to grow at a high rate over the years, with over 80% of the demand currently in Asia, according to BP. About 50% is in China alone.
“The market is now of such a scale - greater than 50 million tonnes a year and continuing to grow at close to 7% - that three or four new world-scale plants per year will be needed,” said Elmslie.
“This creates a material opportunity for us to add value by way of our technology.”
Mr. B.C.Arya, chairman of parent company JBF Industries and director of JBF Petrochemicals, said: “This investment is highly strategic for us, fulfilling our captive requirements for PTA at the lowest possible cost.
“This will make our integrated operations in India and the UAE highly competitive for the long term and underpin our position as one of the world’s leading polyester producers.”
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