BP Amoco, Atochem replace Appryl with new 50:50 PP jv in Europe

15 June 1999 09:53  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (CNI)--BP Amoco and Elf Atochem are to form a 50:50 polypropylene (PP) joint venture which will pool all their European PP activities, the two companies announced in a joint statement on Tuesday.

They have also formed a separate global joint venture which will combine their PP research and technology efforts.

Following the completion of expansion programmes in the UK and France, the European joint venture will have a production capacity of over 1.2m tonne/year, making it the region's third largest PP producer. It will include the activities of the existing 51:49 Atochem/BP Amoco joint venture Appryl plus BP Amoco's activities in Geel, Belgium. Appryl has activities at Gonfreville and Lavera in France and will bring a further PP plant in Grangemouth in the UK onstream at the end of 1999.

The new venture recognises that BP's merger with Amoco has changed significantly the asset balance within Appryl, which was established long before BP merged with Amoco and therefore does not reflect the American company's 400 000 tonne/year capacity PP plant at Geel.

Appryl has a turnover of Euro240m ($252m), and BP Amoco's PP turnover in Europe is over $250m.

The worldwide research and technology joint venture will develop technology from their existing processes for use in their own and licensee plants in Europe, the US and the rest of the world - representing PP capacities of about 3m tonne/year.

By: Anna Williams
+44 208 652 3214

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