BOREALIS TO EXPAND OPERATIONS INTO ASIA

Borealis AS, Copenhagen, has made its first move to expand into Asia. The polyolefins joint venture of Finland's Neste Oy and Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS signed a letter of intent with Qilu Petrochemical Corp. to form a joint venture to develop and produce polyethylene resins and compounds in China. Qilu, a unit of state owned China Petrochemical Corp., operates a 200,000 metric ton/year polyethylene complex at Zibo in Shandong province. The site includes an 8.5 million

July 10, 1995

2 min read

Borealis AS, Copenhagen, has made its first move to expand into Asia.

The polyolefins joint venture of Finland's Neste Oy and Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS signed a letter of intent with Qilu Petrochemical Corp. to form a joint venture to develop and produce polyethylene resins and compounds in China.

Qilu, a unit of state owned China Petrochemical Corp., operates a 200,000 metric ton/year polyethylene complex at Zibo in Shandong province.

The site includes an 8.5 million metric ton/year refinery and 300,000 metric ton/year ethylene plant, both excluded from the joint venture.

A Borealis official said the venture will own and operate the polyethylene unit, with Borealis' contribution being technology and capital.

A feasibility study is under way to determine funding and technology requirements ahead of a final agreement to proceed with the venture, expected early next year.

The official said there are no plans to expand capacity at the site. However, there is a need to upgrade the plant and install new catalyst systems.

"The plant is modern by Chinese standards," said the official, "but could do with upgrading to meet international standards."

Qilu is said to produce enough ethylene on site to meet feedstock requirements. The venture's production is expected to be sold mainly in China.