Czech petrochemicals and plastics producer Unipetrol has held groundbreaking ceremonies for its new polyethylene plant at Litvinov, scheduled to go on stream in mid-2018 with a capacity of up to 270,000 t/y. The new facility will add 150,000 t/y to the group’s PE capacity, as it will replace an older 120,000 t/y plant and complement another plant with capacity of 200,000 t/y. French engineering contractor Technip is building the new plant, which will use Ineos’ Innovene S technology under license.  

At the same time, Unipetrol said it plans to reacquire Spolana, a Czech-based producer of nylon feedstock caprolactam, fertilizers and PVC from Poland’s Anwil for €1 million.

The Prague-based group, which sold Spolana to Anwil in 2006 – the Polish PVC producer has been seeking to unload it for at least five years –  said it wants to now wants to reintegrate its former subsidiary as part of an internal reorganization scheme, especially with regard to its start-up of the new PVC plant. All of the companies involved belong to Polish chemical conglomerate PKN Orlen.