BRITAIN'S BP Plc will build a new acetic acid plant with Sinopec in Chongqing in southwestern China, strengthening its existing partnership for the key industrial raw material.
BP and China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec Group) have agreed to add a 650,000 ton-a-year acetic acid plant at their YARACO joint venture in Chongqing. The plant is estimated to be on stream in 2011.
YARACO, or Yangtze River Acetyls Co, was formed in 1995 and now has acetic acid capacity of 350,000 tons per year. BP owns 51 percent in YARACO, a Sinopec Group unit owning 44 percent and a local government holds the balance.
Acetic acid is an organic chemical raw material, widely used in industries such as textile, medicine, pesticide and dye. BP didn't say how much the new plant would cost. BP China's press office couldn't be reached for comment.
But for comparison, another 500,000 ton-a-year acetic acid joint venture between BP and Sinopec Corp, the listed unit of Sinopec Group, would cost 1.39 billion yuan (US$192 million). The equally-owned plant in Nanjing, eastern Jiangsu Province, will come on stream in 2009. A memorandum of understanding for the Chongqing expansion project was signed yesterday in Beijing.
BP has invested more than US$4.3 billion in commercial projects in China since its arrival in the early 1970s, the energy giant said in the statement.
"Our commercial and social investments serve a clear purpose, which is to provide quality products and materials to help Chinese consumers improve their quality of life and protect the well-being of the environment," Gary Dirks, BP's president for Asia Pacific and China, said.