Indorama Ventures (IVL, Bangkok / Thailand; www.indoramaventures.com) on 31 March completed its acquisition of BP’s (London / UK; www.bp.com) PX, PTA and NDC complex in Decatur, Alabama / USA (for previous coverage, see Plasteurope.com of 08.01.2016). The news means the PET market leader’s AlphaPet plant, located in the immediate vicinity, is now fully backward integrated – and just in time for AlphaPet to commission its new 500,000 t/y line at the site, due on-stream by mid-2016 (see also Plasteurope.com of 27.03.2013).

“Businesses such as Decatur add unprecedented economies of scale and integration to our PET business,” said IVL chief executive Aloke Lohia. Prior to the purchase, BP had been the main supplier of PTA to AlphaPet. The Thai group pointed out that the acquisition coincides with the decision of the United States International Trade Commission (www.usitc.gov) to apply anti-dumping duties on PET imports from China, Canada, India and Oman (see also Plasteurope.com of 27.10.2015) – actions that it said “will help improve the supply chain economics and operating rates.”

Indorama said the US purchase will be followed in Q2 by its acquisition of the PET, PTA and IPA hub run by Cepsa Quimica, a subsidiary of Compañía Española de Petróleos (Cepsa, Madrid; www.cepsa.com), in Cadiz / Spain (see Plasteurope.com of 17.11.2015). The rationale behind this purchase was also integration, scale and technology.