BP, AlphaPet to build new PET unit at Alabama plant

22 March 2013 18:06  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--BP and AlphaPet are joining together again to build a 500,000 tonne/year polyethylene terephthalate (PET) production unit at BP’s petrochemicals complex in Decatur, Alabama, the UK petroleum giant announced on Friday.

AlphaPet, a subsidiary of Thailand-headquartered Indorama Polymers, will spend $190m (€146m) to build and operate a second PET unit adjacent to BP’s purified terephthalic acid (PTA) manufacturing plant, BP said in a press release.

BP will supply PTA directly to the new PET unit.

The new Decatur unit is set to come on line in the fourth quarter of 2015, BP said.

“We are delighted that Indorama has chosen to invest in a second PET unit at Decatur,” said Nigel Dunn, president of BP’s western hemisphere aromatics businesses.

“This new PET unit builds upon the success of the first AlphaPet PET unit at Decatur and further leverages BP’s scale, technology and location advantages to create a highly competitive and integrated [paraxylene]-PTA-PET manufacturing complex,” he said.

According to Indorama’s website, the Decatur facility currently has an installed PET capacity of 432,000 tonnes/year.

Commercial production commenced in October 2009 with a capacity of 216,000 tonnes/year, and in June 2010 a second line was added with another 216,000 tonnes/year capacity.

The facility is adjacent to BP’s Decatur paraxylene (PX) and PTA facility and receives PET feedstock through a pipeline connecting the sites.

($1 = €0.77)

By: Jeremy Pafford
+1 713 525 2653

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