BP Zhuhai to start up China PTA plant by Nov

01 February 2007 09:38  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--BP Zhuhai planned to bring on stream its 900,000 tonne/year purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in south China by November, sources close to the company said on Thursday.

"Some of the equipment has arrived, with more coming in July and August, so the company is trying to start-up in October or November," one of the sources said in Mandarin.

The company earlier said the project at Zhuhai, Guangdong province, will start up at end-2007.

"But with the tests and all, maybe starting up in November seems more probable," the second source said in Mandarin.

Other market sources speculated last year that an early 2008 start-up was more likely due to tight feedstock supply of and squeezed margins for PTA producers.

The new plant will be the first PTA unit to use BP’s latest technology, which can produce up to 1m tonne/year in a single-line facility.

BP Zhuhai, a joint venture between oil and chemicals giant BP (85%) and Fu Hua Group (15%), currently operates a 500,000 tonne/year PTA plant at Zhuhai.

By: Salmon Aidan Lee
+65 6780 4359

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