BP Amoco keeps eyes on Wilton cracker share

01 April 1999 13:49  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (CNI)--BP Amoco said Thursday that it stood by its position of wanting to operate and own half of ICI's ethylene cracker at Wilton on Teesside, England, although ICI is in final negotiations with US group Huntsman for a number of its assets.

The oil and chemicals giant holds a 20% stake in the cracker but has not reached a deal with ICI on the operation/higher equity package. A spokeswoman for BP Amoco Chemicals said the shareholding meant the company was involved in any talks related to the cracker. No further information was available.

CNI learned on Sunday that ICI was is in final negotiations to sell its Tioxide division and some, if not all, of its Teesside petrochemicals business to Huntsman in a deal which could fetch up to around $2bn (Euro1.86bn) or more depending on the assets included. Hopes of a deal with Huntsman being concluded before Easter have faded but an ICI spokesman declined to comment except to say the talks were ongoing.

BP Amoco's interest in the Wilton cracker would be a lynchpin in its expanding UK petrochemicals infrastructure. It is keen on the further strategic development of its chemicals portfolio, although the $26.8bn acquisition of US group Atlantic Richfield Company (Arco) announced earlier Thursday brought very little in chemicals - only a 200 000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) plant being built by Arco and Japanese firm Itochu, which is to be "ringfenced" said BP Amoco.

Another relatively slight change to the company's chemicals portfolio saw BP Amoco Chemicals sell last week the majority of its worldwide antifreeze business to Belgian company Ineos for an undisclosed sum. The deal included sale of 40 000 tonne of product plus the transfer of customers, contracts and technology, but no assets were included. BP Amoco Chemicals continues to keep its antifreeze business with the Peugeot Group, which is supplied through a deal with Acia of Doullens, France.

Ineos was created last year in a management buyout (MBO) from Inspec. In 1995 Inspec bought its ethylene oxide and monoethylene glycol production facilities in Antwerp, Belgium from BP Chemicals.

By: Patrick Reynolds
+44 208 652 3214

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