Our history
BP first entered the Petrochemicals industry in 1947 when it set up a business jointly with Distillers Company in Grangemouth. Read our timeline below to share our history right up to the present day.
In the decades that have followed, BP's Petrochemicals business has played a major role in the growth of the sector and developed some of its key manufacturing processes. Below are some highlights of our history.
1947: First Petrochemicals business set up jointly with Distillers at Grangemouth
1948: Indoil Chemical Company formed
1949: Joint venture with Napthachimie established in France
1955: Patent for direct oxidation of paraxylene (PX) into purified terephthalic acid (PTA)
1956: Amoco formed
1960: Two joint ventures with Chevron established to produce PX and orthoxylene
1961: Amoco breaks ground at Texas City Chemicals
1963: Baglan Bay Petrochemicals complex opened in the UK
1965: Mobil’s plastics interests purchased
1967: Amoco begins production of PX at Texas City Chemicals
1967: First Oxidation / PTA unit at Decatur, Alabama starts up
1969: Amoco builds Chocolate Bayou, Texas HDPE plant
1969: Amoco begins production of PTA and DMT (dimethyl terephthalate) in Geel, Belgium. (DMT production ceases in 1988.)
1971: Amoco Chemicals Company produces first clear bottle from polyester resin
1976: Amoco wins contract to supply Pepsico with plastic bottles
1978: BP acquires Union Carbide’s European petrochemicals and plastics interests and Monsanto’s polystyrene business.
1978: Amoco opens world's largest PTA plant at Cooper River, South Carolina
1979: CAPCO PTA joint venture between Amoco and Chinese Petroleum Corporation starts up in Taiwan
1980: SPC joint venture between Amoco and Samsung begins PTA production in Korea
1982: ICI’s European polyethylene interest acquired
1986: First BP polyethylene licenses sold in China
1987: 100% of Sohio acquired, bringing the nitriles business to BP.
1948: Indoil Chemical Company formed
1949: Joint venture with Napthachimie established in France
1955: Patent for direct oxidation of paraxylene (PX) into purified terephthalic acid (PTA)
1956: Amoco formed
1960: Two joint ventures with Chevron established to produce PX and orthoxylene
1961: Amoco breaks ground at Texas City Chemicals
1963: Baglan Bay Petrochemicals complex opened in the UK
1965: Mobil’s plastics interests purchased
1967: Amoco begins production of PX at Texas City Chemicals
1967: First Oxidation / PTA unit at Decatur, Alabama starts up
1969: Amoco builds Chocolate Bayou, Texas HDPE plant
1969: Amoco begins production of PTA and DMT (dimethyl terephthalate) in Geel, Belgium. (DMT production ceases in 1988.)
1971: Amoco Chemicals Company produces first clear bottle from polyester resin
1976: Amoco wins contract to supply Pepsico with plastic bottles
1978: BP acquires Union Carbide’s European petrochemicals and plastics interests and Monsanto’s polystyrene business.
1978: Amoco opens world's largest PTA plant at Cooper River, South Carolina
1979: CAPCO PTA joint venture between Amoco and Chinese Petroleum Corporation starts up in Taiwan
1980: SPC joint venture between Amoco and Samsung begins PTA production in Korea
1982: ICI’s European polyethylene interest acquired
1986: First BP polyethylene licenses sold in China
1987: 100% of Sohio acquired, bringing the nitriles business to BP.
1990: First major Asia Pacific initiatives agreed in Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia
1994: Agreement to construct major acetic acid plant in Chongqing, China
1995: BP launches Innovene brand
1996: Kuantan PTA plant opens in Malaysia
1997: Second PTA unit built at Cooper River
1997: PT AMI joint venture between Amoco and Mitsui begins production of PTA in Merak, Indonesia
1997: BPPA joint venture with Petronas to build acetic acid plant in Malaysia established
1998: BP and Amoco enter largest ever industrial merger
1999: BPPA acetic acid joint venture comes onstream in Malaysia
2001: Shanghai SECCO joint venture established between BP, Sinopec, and Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited
2002: BP acquires Veba Oel, becoming the number one producer of ethylene in Europe
2003: New BP petrochemicals strategy announced
2003: BP’s first PTA plant in China at Zhuhai, Guangdong Province begins production
2003: Speciality intermediate chemicals business sold
2004: Closure of Baglan Bay manufacturing plant
2004: Sale of olefins, specialities and derivatives (OS&D) business
2005: BP Nova styrenic polymers joint venture agreement signed
2005: BP sells Innovene to Ineos
2007: BP sells interest in Korean PTA joint venture SPC
2008: BP signs MOU with Sinopec to add a new acetic acid plant in Chongqing, China
2008: Second PTA plant in Zhuhai, China begins commissioning
2010: BP sells Malaysia ethylene and polyethylene interests to Petronas
2010: BYACO acetic acid joint venture with Sinopec begins commercial production in Nanjing, China
1994: Agreement to construct major acetic acid plant in Chongqing, China
1995: BP launches Innovene brand
1996: Kuantan PTA plant opens in Malaysia
1997: Second PTA unit built at Cooper River
1997: PT AMI joint venture between Amoco and Mitsui begins production of PTA in Merak, Indonesia
1997: BPPA joint venture with Petronas to build acetic acid plant in Malaysia established
1998: BP and Amoco enter largest ever industrial merger
1999: BPPA acetic acid joint venture comes onstream in Malaysia
2001: Shanghai SECCO joint venture established between BP, Sinopec, and Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited
2002: BP acquires Veba Oel, becoming the number one producer of ethylene in Europe
2003: New BP petrochemicals strategy announced
2003: BP’s first PTA plant in China at Zhuhai, Guangdong Province begins production
2003: Speciality intermediate chemicals business sold
2004: Closure of Baglan Bay manufacturing plant
2004: Sale of olefins, specialities and derivatives (OS&D) business
2005: BP Nova styrenic polymers joint venture agreement signed
2005: BP sells Innovene to Ineos
2007: BP sells interest in Korean PTA joint venture SPC
2008: BP signs MOU with Sinopec to add a new acetic acid plant in Chongqing, China
2008: Second PTA plant in Zhuhai, China begins commissioning
2010: BP sells Malaysia ethylene and polyethylene interests to Petronas
2010: BYACO acetic acid joint venture with Sinopec begins commercial production in Nanjing, China
2012: BP sells its 100% equity interest in PTA manufacturer BP Chemicals (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (BPCM), located at Kuantan, to Reliance Global Holdings Pte. Ltd.
