BP enhances its position in the PTA market in China with the official start-up of the Phase 3 PTA plant of Zhuhai Chemical Co.

LONDON, 9-7-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — BP today celebrated the official start-up of the Phase 3 PTA plant of Zhuhai Chemical Co., enhancing its position in the purified terephthalic acid (PTA) market and its long-term commitment in China.

BP Zhuhai, in which BP and Zhuhai Port Co. hold an 85 percent and 15 percent stake respectively, is the leading Sino-foreign joint venture producing and marketing PTA in China.

The completed Phase 3 plant, with a design production capacity of 1.25 million tonnes per year, is the world’s largest single train PTA unit.

Erginbilgic, Chief Executive of BP Downstream, attended the opening ceremony. He said: “This is a milestone for both BP and BP Zhuhai. I’m very proud to witness its opening. At BP, we are committed to becoming the leading downstream business. The safe completion and successful commissioning of Phase 3 is an important part of our intent to keep our petrochemical business competitive globally.”

Commenting on the investment in Zhuhai, Edward Yang, president of BP China, said: “BP Zhuhai is a good example of our long-term commitment in Guangdong province, which accounts for a large proportion of our investment in China. We look forward to playing a greater and more active role in the progression of the ‘Green Guangdong Agenda’ by providing our significant experience and expertise in clean energy and energy efficiency.”

Zhuhai Phase 3 is the first site to use BP’s most recent version of its PTA technology. Compared with conventional technology, Zhuhai 3 is highly energy efficient and delivers 95 percent lower solid waste, 65 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions and 75 percent lower water discharge, therefore bringing benefits both for society and the company.

Nick Elmslie, Chief Executive of BP’s Petrochemical Business, said: “Technology is one of the key drivers for BP’s success. And this latest unit employs BP’s most advanced PTA manufacturing technology that will enable us to deliver high-quality products to our customers with higher operational efficiency and environmental performance.”

PTA is the essential raw material for making polyesters extensively used in producing textiles, packaging and film products.

In addition to PTA manufacturing and marketing, BP’s business activities in Guangdong also include oil product and lubricant retailing, gas terminal, pipelines and trading, aviation fuel supply and oil terminal service.

Notes to Editors

• Headquartered in London, BP is one of the world’s leading international oil and gas companies. It has operations in around 80 countries and its major business activities include exploration and production and refining and marketing, petrochemicals and lubricants. Through these activities, BP provides customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, lubricants to keep engines moving and petrochemical products used to make everyday items. BP has over 85,000 employees worldwide and its shares are listed on the London and New York stock exchanges.
• BP has been operating in China since the early 1970s. With an accumulated investment of current operations around US$ 4.5 billion by the end of March 2015, BP is one of the leading foreign investors in the oil & gas sector in China. BP’s business activities in China include petrochemicals manufacturing and marketing, aviation fuel supply, oil product and lubricant retailing, gas terminal and pipelines and the chemicals technology licensing.
• Building on its business successes in China, BP has also expanded partnership relations with the national energy companies beyond the country’s borders. BP is working with PetroChina in Iraq, Sinopec in Angola, and with CNOOC in Australia, Indonesia and Argentina. Further information about BP China is available on www.bp.com.cn.
• BP Zhuhai was established in 1997 and its first line with capacity of 350, 000 tonnes per year started up in 2003. It was followed by a second line having an initial capacity of 900, 000 tonnes with a further expansion to 1.1 million tonnes in 2012. With the completion of PTA # 3, the combined annual production capacity at BP Zhuhai has reached 2.7 million tonnes, making the plant one of the largest PTA manufacturers in the world.
• BP has been one of the world’s leading producers of PTA since PTA production was commercialized about 50 years ago. BP has interests in 7 PTA plants globally, including 3 joint ventures plants in Asia, as well as 4 wholly-owned operations in Malaysia, Europe and the US. BP also licenses itsleading PTA technology to third parties.

Further enquiries:

BP Press Office, China: +86 (0)10 6589 3878, bpchinapress@bp.com