BP and OMAN INTERNATIONAL PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRIES COMPANY (OMPET) (a joint venture between Oman Oil Company, LG International Corp and Takamul Investment Company) have entered into a licensing agreement for BP’s latest generation purified terephthalic acid (PTA) technology. OMPET intends to build a 1.1 million tonnes per annum (tpa) unit at Sohar, Oman, to produce PTA, the primary feedstock for polyesters used in the textile and packaging industry.
“This is the first licence for BP’s PTA technology in the Middle East which is an important and strategic region for BP. This is a testimony to the advantages of BP’s technology and to BP’s extensive experience as a PTA producer,” said Nick Elmslie, Chief Operating Officer, BP Petrochemicals.
“BP will provide a wide range of technical and knowledge transfer services as well as a commitment to assist Omani staff within the OMPET joint venture. The front end engineering design (FEED) package for the licence has been completed and delivered to OMPET on schedule. I am very proud that OMPET has chosen BP’s PTA technology and we look forward to a long standing relationship between our companies,” said Daniel Leonardi, Vice President, Technology and Licensing, BP Petrochemicals.
“Our PTA technology has significantly lower capital and operating costs when compared with conventional PTA plants and the technology is more energy efficient, uses less water, and produces less solid waste. We continue to invest heavily in our proprietary technology and this will maintain BP’s PTA technology as the global leader, and as the technology of choice for the future. Innovations in the technology will continue to be developed and implemented and these will be available to our licensees, including OMPET,” said Leonardi.
BP’s Global Petrochemicals Business has total (net to BP) capacity at 18 locations in ten countries of 18.3 million tpa including 6.7 million tpa of PTA.
BP is one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, serving millions of customers every day in around 80 countries, and employing around 85,000 people. BP’s business segments are oil and gas exploration & production, and refining & marketing. Through these activities, BP provides fuel for transportation; energy for heat and light; services for motorists; and petrochemicals products for plastics, textiles and food packaging. It has strong positions in many of the world's hydrocarbon basins and strong market positions in key economies.
BP’s PTA technology was originally developed in the USA during the 1950s and through successive iterations has continued to improve in terms of its capital and operating costs. BP’s latest iteration of PTA technology is in use at the BP Zhuhai joint venture in China and has been licensed to JBF Industries in India, each with 1.25 million tpa capacity.
OMPET was formed in 3Q2013 as a joint venture between Oman Oil Company (50%), LG International Corp (30%) and Takamul Investment Company (20%) which is 93.7% owned by Oman Oil Company.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning BP’s expectations regarding the licensing agreement signed between BP and Oman International Petrochemical Industries Company (OMPET) concerning BP’s latest generation purified terephthalic acid (PTA) technology, including OMPET’s intentions and expectations regarding the construction of a new unit and the estimated completion time thereof; BP’s plans and expectations regarding, knowledge transfer services and the development of Omani staff; BP’s expectations that BP’s PTA technology will maintain its position as a global leader and that BP will continue to develop and implement innovations such technology; and OMPET’s expectations that the license will contribute to the creation of the most competitive polyester value change in the Middle East. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will or may occur in the future. Actual results may differ from those expressed in such statements, depending on a variety of factors including changes in public expectations and other changes to business conditions; the receipt of relevant third-party and or regulatory approvals; future levels of industry product supply; demand and pricing; economic and financial conditions generally or in various countries and regions; the timing and nature of maintenance outages; operational problems; political stability and economic growth in relevant areas of the world; changes in laws and governmental regulations; regulatory or legal actions; the actions of competitors, trading partners and others; natural disasters and adverse weather conditions; wars and acts of terrorism, cyber-attacks or sabotage; and other factors discussed under "Risk factors" in our Annual Report and Form 20-F 2014 as filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.