ATOFINA / BP
PP joint venture Appryl to be dissolved / Assets divided between former partners
Joint venture partners Atofina (HQ: D-40474 Düsseldorf) and BP Amoco (HQ: 1 Finsbury Circus, GB-London EC2M 7BA) have announced plans to dissolve their 51:49 polypropylene production joint venture Appryl (12, place de l´Iris, F-92062 Paris La Defense). The move became necessary because of market concentration following the merger of the former partners Elf Aquitaine with TotalFina and BP with Amoco. Through the deal with Amoco, BP picked up 440,000 t/y of PP in Belgium. Output of the merged Elf and TotaFina rose to 400,000 t/y.
In the asset split, Atofina will take the 150,000 t/y Gonfreville, France, production site. Lavera, where 245,000 t/y of PP are produced downstream of the Naphthachimie cracker (also a BP-Atofina jv), the two former PP partners will form a manufacturing joint venture under the French group´s management, dividing output equally. BP will take the 250,000 t/y Scottish production site at Grangemouth, which went onstream in August of this year. BP and Atofina will both have free access to technology developed by Appryl. The PP jv founded in 1986 had sales of EUR 285m in 1999.
In the asset split, Atofina will take the 150,000 t/y Gonfreville, France, production site. Lavera, where 245,000 t/y of PP are produced downstream of the Naphthachimie cracker (also a BP-Atofina jv), the two former PP partners will form a manufacturing joint venture under the French group´s management, dividing output equally. BP will take the 250,000 t/y Scottish production site at Grangemouth, which went onstream in August of this year. BP and Atofina will both have free access to technology developed by Appryl. The PP jv founded in 1986 had sales of EUR 285m in 1999.
30.11.2000 Plasteurope.com [17025]
Published on 30.11.2000