Corrected: NPRA ‘11: ExxonMobil mulls Fujian, China JV expansion - president

27 March 2011 22:26  [Source: ICIS news]

Correction: In the ICIS story headlined "ExxonMobil mulls Fujian, China JV expansion - president" dated 27 March 2011, please read in the fourth paragraph ...ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco... instead of ...ExxonMobil and Saudi Arabia’s SABIC.... A corrected story follows.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ICIS)--US-based ExxonMobil Chemical is evaluating options to expand capacity at its Fujian Refining & Petrochemical (FREP) joint venture in China, its president said on Sunday.

“We are evaluating expansion options at the Fujian complex,” Stephen Pryor, president of ExxonMobil Chemical, said on the sidelines of the International Petrochemical Conference (IPC).

“We are running at nameplate and all the capacity is being absorbed,” he added.

FREP, a joint venture between China’s Sinopec, ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco, has 800,000 tonnes/year of naphtha-based ethylene capacity and 800,000 tonnes of polyethylene capacity.

“We retain a very positive view on the outlook for petrochemicals and polymers, and expect over 5%/year growth over the next decade for polyethylene, polypropylene and paraxylene,” said Pryor.

“Much of the growth will be driven by developing markets. We see some very good fundamentals there,” he added.

In 2010, Asia was able to absorb all the new petrochemical and polymers capacity that came on line in the Middle East and locally, and markets in 2011 could firm up, he noted.

“The fundamentals on a global basis look favorable with good demand and not a lot of new capacity,” said Pryor.

Hosted by the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA), the IPC continues through Tuesday.

Additional reporting by John Baker and Nigel Davis

By: Joseph Chang
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