Energy

Sinopec, SABIC invest in polycarbonate plant

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-18 10:25

BEIJING-- China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) announced on Tuesday that the company will establish a new polycarbonate production plant with an annual capacity of 260,000 tons with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) at their existing joint venture in northern China's Tianjin municipality.

The new polycarbonate production plant will be located at the companies' joint venture and is expected to be operational by 2015, said Sinopec in a statement.

The company did not disclose the investment volume of the project.

The new plant will leverage SABIC's world-class advanced polycarbonate technology using a process free of phosgene and dichloromethane, according to Sinopec.

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Polycarbonate is an essential plastic used for producing components for automotive parts, compact discs and a variety of consumer products as well as other industrial components.

Fully operational since 2010, the Tianjin-based 50/50 joint venture produces various petrochemical products, including ethylene, polyethylene, ethylene glycol, polypropylene, butadiene, phenol and butene-1.

Wang Tianpu, vice chairman and president of Sinopec, said the investment plays a critical role in completing Sinopec's value chain and enhancing its competitiveness as the products will meet growing demands for polycarbonate in the Asia Pacific market.

Listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai, Sinopec is the listed subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group).