US Dow Chemical postpones coal-chemical complex in China

27 July 2011 22:57  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--US Dow Chemical will wait until the last half of the decade before it turns its attention to a joint venture with China’s Shenhua Group for a planned coal-to-chemicals complex in China.

Dow plans to focus much of its attention now to launching Sadara Chemical, the massive $20bn (€13.8bn) joint venture with Saudi Aramco, by 2015, Dow CEO Andrew Liveris said on Wednesday during the company’s second-quarter earnings conference call.

“Obviously the ability to use China coal is there,” he said. “But it’ll have a slightly different product mix to Sadara, and it’ll definitely have different timing. We anticipate it to be in the back half of this decade.”

Dow announced the joint venture with Shenhua in 2010. The $10bn coal-to-chemicals complex was scheduled to start up in 2016. It includes 23 production units, auxiliary projects, supporting and storage facilities, with a capacity to produce around 3.5m tonnes/year of products.

($1 = €0.69)

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By: Bobbie Clark
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