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Oil, Gas, Petrochemical Industry News
News Release from: RCCnews | Subject: Polyef
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 30 November 2004
Lukoil joins the fight for Polyef
The head of the Lukoil Company, Vagit Alikperov, has presented a plan for the Polyef chemical complex development to the Bashkirian president, Murtaza Rakhimov
The head of the Lukoil Company, Vagit Alikperov, has presented a plan for the Polyef chemical complex development to the Bashkirian president, Murtaza Rakhimov Now, the struggle for the control over this complex is going on
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 2 May 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Previously, Gazprom began the negotiations concerning the Polyef acquisition.
In the next few months, the complex will be up for auction by the Russian Federal Property Fund.
The owner of the sole Russian potential producer of terephthalic acid, which is a starting material for the plastic bottle production, will control the market of USD 500m value.
AK Sibur Company, a Gazprom subsidiary, was the first company in Russia, which launched the production of PET in the country (in Tver, 52.6 thousand t/year capacity) in 2003.
However it is hard to achieve profitable operation of the plant, for the domestic terephthalic acid is sold at a price nearly that of the imported PET.
Here is the reason of the Gazprom interest in the plant acquisition: PET production in Russia will make profitable the Sibur-PETF operation and will permit Sibur to realise two new projects.
JSC Polyef, Blagoveschensk, Bashkiria, was started in the 80s, for terephthalic acid production.
The equipment was purchased from the Japanese companies of Kobe Steel and Mitsui Nissho Iwai for USD 561m.
The Polyef annual capacity is 230 thousand tonne of terephthalic acid and 120 thousand tonne of PET.
100 % of the company's shares are state property.
Different evaluations put the cost of launching operating of the complex at USD 150-200m.
Currently, there is no terephthalic acid production in Russia.
Neither the Bashkirian local budget, nor the federal one has money for finishing the plant construction.
So, it was decided to privatise the JSC by selling 100% of its shares to a private investor.
However, all the three auctions for its sale failed in 2003 due to the absence of bids.
As a result, its privatisation was rescheduled for 2004 and included in this year's privatisation program.
In accordance with the Russian government directions, it is to be sold before the end of the year.
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