BP Agrees Sale of Alabama Complex to Indorama

BP has agreed to sell its petrochemical complex in Decatur, Alabama, USA, to Thai PET producer Indorama Ventures, the global market leader. Indorama’s AlphaPet PET plant is co-located on the Decatur site, with BP supplying paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) feedstock.

The site was put up for sale last November as BP decided to refocus its global business in a bid to improve profitability and long-term growth.

Financial terms were not disclosed but the transaction is expected to close early in 2016. Indorama will also assume certain contracts with suppliers and customers as part of the deal.

Rita Griffin, chief operating officer of BP Global Petrochemicals, said the agreement would allow it to focus investments on its PTA plant in Cooper River, South Carolina, which is currently being upgraded, as well as a key producer of PTA feedstock in Texas City, Texas.

Indorama has been steadily building its PET base for several years and most recently has sought back-integration into PTA. The most recent deals include the December 2015 announcement of plans to buy Indian PET producer MicroPet and the acquisition a month earlier of competitor CEPSA’s PTA/PET assets in Spain.

BP said it expects to make divestments worth between $3-5 billion in 2016, along with ongoing divestments averaging around $2-3 billion per year thereafter.