Mitsui Chem plans BPA in Sing/China

10 December 2001 00:00  [Source: ACN]

Mitsui Chemicals plans to build a 70 000 tonne/year bisphenol A (BPA) plant either in Singapore or China, and a 50 000 tonne/year ethylene-propylene terpolymer (EPT) facility in Singapore, a company source told ACN.

The source said the Japanese major is considering China as a possible investment destination because of the 'big market potential there'. It will decide by next year where to build the proposed BPA plant which would be brought onstream in 2004-05.

The source stressed that Mitsui is still committed to investing more in Singapore. If the BPA project is located in China, 'there would be other investment plans for Singapore in the future', he added, without elaborating.

If the proposed BPA plant is built in Singapore, it would be Mitsui's fourth BPA plant in the island republic. Mitsui already has two plants in Singapore producing a total of 140 000 tonne/year of BPA, and is currently building a third 70 000 tonne/year BPA plant due for startup in 2002.

Mitsui also has a 200 000 tonne/year phenol plant in Singapore that provides feedstock for the BPA facilities. It is studying building another 200 000 tonne/year phenol plant in Singapore or Thailand (ACN 8 Jan, p32).

An industry consultant believes that if Mitsui builds another phenol plant in Singapore, it would make sense for the major to locate the proposed BPA plant in Singapore too, 'so as to obtain feedstock from the additional phenol output'.

The consultant added: 'But if the phenol project is located in Thailand, then the much cheaper operating costs in Thailand compared to Singapore would justify shipping the phenol to feed a BPA plant elsewhere. So that means the BPA plant would be in China.'

Meanwhile, the proposed EPT plant would be built on Singapore's Jurong Island. It is expected to start up in 2005 and would be next to the major's proposed 100 000 tonne/ year elastomer plant, which is currently under construction.

The elastomer project is due to start up in December 2002. It would produce Tafmer, a high-performance elastomer.

Both the proposed elastomer and EPT plants would be operated by Mitsui subsidiary, Mitsui Elastomers Singapore.

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