BP to sell Alabama petrochemicals complex to Indorama Ventures
The sale, which marks a further step in BP’s restructuring of its global petrochemicals business, is expected to close in early 2016.
BP has agreed to sell its petrochemical complex in Decatur, Alabama to Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd. as part of a previously announced effort to refocus its global petrochemicals business through world-scale, low-cost facilities that utilize the company’s proprietary technology, including the production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), a key raw material in the production of polyester.
Under the terms of the agreement, Indorama Ventures will purchase the Decatur complex, including working capital and related infrastructure, and assume certain contracts with suppliers and customers. The parties anticipate the deal closing to occur in early 2016 when employees will transfer to the new owner.
“This agreement allows us to focus investment on our world-class PTA production facility in Cooper River, South Carolina and a key PTA feedstock producer in Texas City, Texas, as well as to maintain a strong position in the important U.S. petrochemicals industry," said Rita Griffin, chief operating officer of BP Global Petrochemicals.
The Decatur complex produces chemicals that are essential for the production of thousands of items, from plastic water bottles to flat-screen televisions. The 1,000-acre complex can produce one million tons per year (1 MMtpy) of PTA, as well as paraxylene (PX), a raw material for PTA production. The site is also the world’s only commercial manufacturer of naphthalene dicarboxylate (NDC), a specialty chemical used in new-generation polyesters and resins used to make LCD flat-panel displays, ultra-thin data storage tape and other products.
Elsewhere, BP is spending $200 MM to upgrade its Cooper River, South Carolina plant and its sister facility in Geel, Belgium—the largest PTA-producing sites in the Americas and Europe, respectively. The investment will enable the two facilities to lower operating costs, improve reliability and reduce emissions. Earlier this year, BP also started up its new Zhuhai 3 unit in Guangdong Province, China. Using BP’s latest technology and capable of producing up to 1.25 MMtpy of PTA, Zhuhai 3 is the world’s largest single-train PTA production unit.
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