Jun 2 2004
The Dow Chemical Company and Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) of Kuwait, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, announced today the formation of two new joint ventures that are designed to further develop their commercial relationship in the petrochemical industry. Subject to regulatory review and customary approvals, Dow and PIC will form:
- MEGlobal, a 50/50 global joint venture for the manufacture and marketing of merchant monoethylene glycol and diethylene glycol (EG).
- Equipolymers, a 50/50 global joint venture for the manufacture and marketing of polyethylene terephthalate resins (PET) and the manufacture of purified teraphthalic acid (PTA).
"The joint ventures announced today represent PIC's largest investment to date outside of Kuwait," said Mr. Saad Al-Shuwaib, chairman and managing director of PIC. "These further investments with Dow represent an important milestone in developing PIC's strategy to expand its participation in the global petrochemical industry."
To form MEGlobal, Dow will sell to PIC a 50 percent interest in its Canadian ethylene glycol assets. MEGlobal will purchase ethylene from Dow. MEGlobal will also market the excess EG produced in Dow's plants in the United States and Europe, and may also market the EG produced by Dow and PIC affiliates.
To form Equipolymers, Dow will sell to PIC a 50 percent interest in its PET/PTA business which includes assets in Germany and Italy.
PIC is one of six specialized subsidiaries of the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). PIC represents the petrochemical arm of KPC and produces fertilizer and petrochemicals. PIC has invested in the modernization of its fertilizer complex in Kuwait and expects to reach one million ton per annum of granular urea production. PIC also runs a 100,000 ton per annum polypropylene plant through an arrangement with EQUATE.
For more information on polyethylene terephthalate, click here.