Two international chemical giants, Germany's BASF and Petronas of Malaysia, have announced they will build a new world-scale plant for 2-Ethylhexanoic Acid (2-EHAcid) at the production site of their 60:40 joint venture BASF Petronas Chemicals in Kuantan, Malaysia.

Among other things, the chemical intermediate is used as a compound in the production of synthetic lubricants as well oil additives. BASF also operates a 2-EHAacid production plant at its integrated production complex in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

The two groups said the plant will be the first of its kind in the ASEAN region. It is expected go on stream in the fourth quarter of 2016 with capacity to produce 30,000 t/y. The facility will benefit from backward integration at the site, which the joint venture partners said will allow high delivery reliability and maximize efficient use of energy and feedstock.

"With this new plant, we are responding to our customers' growing demands in Asia Pacific. Through this additional capacity BASF will become one of the leading suppliers for high purity 2-EHAcid in the region," said Stefan Blank, president, BASF Intermediates division. "This investment further strengthens BASF's offering in various downstream markets across a broad range of applications," he added.

"With this project, Petronas and BASF are fully utilizing our strengths in the areas of resources, technology, talent and management," said Datuk Sazali Hamzah, CEO of the Malaysian group.

In addition to the 2-EHAcid unit, BASF Petronas Chemicals is also building an integrated aroma ingredients complex at its Kuantan site, also due on stream in 2016. This will enable the production of citronellol, L-menthol as well as citral and its precursors, widely used in flavour and fragrance industry.