LONDON, UK: BP Plc and Ningxia Baota Chemical Fibre Co Ltd (a majority owned subsidiary of Baota Petrochemical Group) said they have signed an agreement to license BP’s latest generation purified terephthalic acid (PTA) technology, the third such deal agreed by BP. Ningxia Baota intends to build a 1.2 million tonne per annum (tpa) unit at the Ningxia Ningdong energy and chemical zone in Ningxia Hui autonomous region, China, to produce PTA, the primary feedstock for polyesters used in the textile and packaging industry. Baota expects the PTA plant to come on stream in 2018.
“This is the first third-party PTA licence for BP in China since our recent decision to license the use of our market-leading technology. Baota is a renowned petrochemical company in China and we see great potential long-term in the polyester supply chain,” said Rita Griffin, chief operating officer, global petrochemicals business, BP.
“Our PTA technology has significantly lower capital and operating costs relative to conventional PTA plants. The technology is substantially more energy efficient, uses less water, and produces less solid waste,” said Dan Leonardi, vice president, technology & licensing, petrochemicals, BP.
“This investment is highly strategic for us, fulfilling the local requirements for PTA at the lowest possible cost and contributing to the economic development in Ningxia region. We appreciate the quality of BP PTA technology and look forward to a long term successful cooperation with BP,” said Gao Guozheng, chairman, Ningxia Baota Chemical Fibre and CEO, Baota Petrochemical Group, Ningxia Region.
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