Three firms vie for BP’s share in SECCO JV petrochemical plant
(Reuters) At least three leading chemical companies are set to vie for BP's stake in Chinese petrochemicals JV SECCO which could fetch more than $2 B, sources close to the process said.
Offers for the 50% stake, the British oil and gas company's largest investment in China, will be submitted in the coming days, the sources said.
SK Chemicals Co., a pharmaceutical unit of South Korea's SK Group; Austrian plastics group Borealis, owned by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund IPIC and oil and gas company OMV; and privately-owned Switzerland-based chemicals company Ineos are set to bid for the asset, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information isn't public.
At least one other company is considering entering the bidding round.
BP's partner in the joint venture, state-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), has a right of first refusal. It has said it is discussing the conditions put forward by BP, but has made no decision.
SECCO, a venture formed in 2001, produces ethylene and propylene, which are used to make resins, plastics and synthetic rubbers.
BP, like other of the world's top oil companies, is in the midst of a divestment drive in order to focus its business and boost cash flow in the wake of the halving of oil prices since mid-2014. It is planning sales worth $3-$5 B this year.
The company has sold more than $50 B of assets since a deadly explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
BP has sold several assets to Ineos in recent years, including the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland as part of a $9 B sale of the olefins and refining business Innovene in 2005.
Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Ron Bousso Additional reporting by Denny Thomas; Editing by Mark Potter
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