BASF Petronas Chemicals, the joint venture between Germany’s BASF and major Malaysian petrochemicals company Petronas, has broken ground on its highly reactive polyisobutene (HR-PIB) in Gebeng, Kuantan, Malaysia.

Located at one of BASF’s two Verbund (integrated) sites in Asia-Pacific, BASF said the new HR-PIB plant provides a synergistic opportunity for background integration that allows for greater sustainable use of raw materials, energy and technology know-how.

The plant will produce 50,000 t/y HR-PIB with production scheduled to start in the final quarter of 2017. HR-PIB is an intermediate in the manufacture of high performance fuel and lubricant additives.

BASF also produces HR-PIB at its Verbund sites in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium, and within a jv with Sinopec YPC in Nanjing, China.

An integrated aroma ingredients facility is also under construction at the Kuantan complex. BASF Petronas is investing $500 million in the plant to manufacture citral, citronellol and L-menthol to meet rising demand from the flavors and fragrance industry, particularly in Asia-Pacific.

Production is being developed in stages and the first phase plants are due to become operational this year.