Just when the market was getting used to Innovene, its name is landing – along with so many others – on the dust heap of European petrochemical history. The Ineos Group (Lyndhurst / UK; www.ineos.com) is restructuring the new subsidiary recently acquired from BP and integrating most of the activities into its own organisation – see Plasteurope.com Web of 20.10.2005. Over the next several weeks, the former BP Petrochemicals assets will be regrouped into seven new Ineos business units.

All European and Asian PE and PP activities will become part of Ineos Polyolefins. The crackers at Grangemouth / UK, Lavéra / France and Cologne-Wörringen / Germany will be absorbed by Ineos Olefins, which also will encompass projects in Saudi Arabia (Innovene) and at Wilhelmshaven / Germany (Ineos). The Grangemouth and Lavéra refineries will be part of Ineos Refining, and North American olefins and polyolefins assets will be merged into Ineos Olefins & Polymers.

Ineos Nitriles will include most of Innovene´s nitriles business, while Ineos Technologies will take in the licensing and catalyst business, including that of Ineos ChlorVinyls, and Ineos Oligomers will be home to alpha olefins, polyisobutene (PIB) and oligomers. Names of the other existing Ineos group companies will remain unchanged.

The privately held UK chemical producer is now trying to raise EUR 3.1 bn to refinance the bridging loan it took out last year to help pay for the Innovene acquisition. According to reports, management is seeking underwriters for a 10-year fixed and 10 year flexible high-yield bond expected to be the biggest of its type ever placed in Europe.