Asian companies are becoming increasingly active as producers in the already well-supplied European PET packaging resins market. The latest to announce investment locally is JBF RAK (Ras al Khaimah / UAE; www.jbfrak.com), the Middle East company owned to 60% by India’s JBF Industries (Mumbai; www.jbfindia.com). The joint venture, in which the UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (Rakia) holds a stake, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a 390,000 t/y plant at Geel / Belgium. Start-up is scheduled for 2014. PTA feedstock will be supplied from the adjacent 1.35m t/y facility operated by BP Aromatics, a subsidiary of BP (London / UK; www.bp.com).

JBF RAK already operates a 390,000 t/y PET resins plant in the UAE, as well as a line churning out 80,000 t/y of BOPET film. By its own account, the company supplies packaging resins and BOPET films to “all the leading brands and converters globally.” With the new production facility it said it plans to take a step closer to its EU customer base. For fiscal 2010/2011 (31 March), the jv reported sales of USD 663m and EBITDA of USD 120m.

Additionally, JBF also has production capability for 150,000 t/y of PET resin and 486,000 t/y of polyester materials. In 2010, the Indian group signed an MOU for a 1.2m t PTA joint venture with Oman Oil at Sohar. However, it recently announced that the USD 680m project would be shifted to the special economic zone at Mangalore, Karnataka / India. Reports say the realisation of the Oman plans – the facility would provide feedstock for PET production in the UAE – had faced delays. The Oman government meanwhile is believed to be slowly stepping up the pace of petrochemical investment in the country – see Plasteurope.com of 30.05.2011.