JBF Petrochemicals inks deal with BP for licensing BP’s lat PTA technology

09-Jul-12

JBF Petrochemicals Ltd., a subsidiary of JBF Industrie has entered into an agreement with BP for licensing BP’s latest generation Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) technology. Plans are underway to build a 1.25 mln tpa unit at Mangalore SEZ to produce PTA, the primary feedstock for polyesters to go on stream by the end of 2014. With this, the company’s requirements for captive PTA will be met at the lowest possible cost. It would also make the integrated operations in India and the UAE competitive. This is the first third party, non-affiliate, license agreement that BP has signed. Nick Elmslie, chief executive of BP's global petrochemicals business, ''Our PTA technology has significantly lower capital and operating costs compared with conventional PTA plants and is more energy efficient, uses less water, and produces less solid waste than its competitors. We have invested significantly in our proprietary technology and there are two routes to monetise this; one is through investment and one is through licensing. We have decided that the maximum value to BP will come both from investing in projects such as our Zhuhai 3 project in Guangdong, China and through licensing.'' Over the years the PTA market has continued to grow with over 80% of the demand now in Asia, of which China alone accounts for 50%. ''The market is now of such a scale - greater than 50 mln tpa and continuing to grow at close to 7% - that three or four new world-scale plants per year will be needed. This creates a material opportunity for us to add value by way of our technology,'' says Elmslie. B C Arya, chairman JBF Industries Ltd, and director JBF Petrochemicals, says, ''This investment is highly strategic for us, fulfilling our captive requirements for PTA at the lowest possible cost. This will make our integrated operations in India and the UAE highly competitive for the long term and underpin our position as one of the world's leading polyester producers.''