By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, May 3 -- BP PLC, London, has acquired Bayer AG's interest in their German petrochemical joint venture, Erdoelchemie GMBH.
Erdoelchemie is now a wholly owned subsidiary of BP's German operating company, Deutsche BP AG. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. BP and Bayer founded Erdoelchemie in 1957 as a 50-50 joint venture.
The petrochemical plant is on the Rhine at Cologne-Worringen near Cologne. It employs 2,200 workers and produces 4.4 million tonnes/year of petrochemicals.
In recent years BP and Bayer sanctioned numerous expansions at Erdoelchemie, most recently a 200,000 tonne/year ethylene cracker expansion, expected on stream in June. The investment program is expected to continue under BP's ownership.
The acquisition reinforces BP's European and global positions in polyethylene, acrylonitrile, aromatics, ethylene oxide, and its derivatives. Erdoelchemie will account for 18% of BP's total worldwide petrochemical capacity.
The integration of Erdoelchemie into BP's chemicals business is a priority, executives said.
BP and Bayer will continue to have business relationships at Erdoelchemie, where BP supplies numerous feedstocks to Bayer's adjacent Dormagen site and Bayer provides numerous services to the Erdoelchemie site.
Bayer is based in Leverkusen, Germany.
