BASF Corporation and Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc. (TPRI) today announced the companies have signed agreements relating to the merger of two joint ventures and the change of the name of the merged venture to BASF TOTAL Petrochemicals LLC for the companies' Port Arthur, Texas, joint operations. This consolidates the joint ventures that were formerly known as BASF FINA Petrochemicals Limited Partnership and Sabina Petrochemicals LLC.
"This structure change was done to simplify the joint venture operations into one legal entity that reflected the current ownership of the facility," said Heidi Alderman, Senior Vice President of BASF's North American Petrochemicals Business. "BASF and TPRI remain strongly committed to the Port Arthur facility and will invest significant capital in the site over the next few years."
BASF retains 60 percent ownership in the joint venture and TPRI retains 40 percent.
The original joint venture was created in September 1997, when BASF and Fina Oil and Chemical Company (now TPRI) formed a limited partnership to build the naphtha steam cracker in Port Arthur.
At the Port Arthur site there was also a tri-venture named Sabina Petrochemicals LLC between Shell, BASF and TPRI that operates one of the world's largest C4 complexes. Shell exited the venture on August 1, 2011, leaving BASF and TPRI as sole members with the same ownership shares (60 percent and 40 percent) as in the BASF FINA Petrochemicals joint venture.
"The new name reflects the strong partnership between TPRI and BASF as well as reinforces the commitment to strengthen the synergies between the two facilities," said Geoffroy Petit, Vice President, Refining and Base Chemicals for Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc.
About BASF TOTAL Petrochemicals LLCBASF TOTAL Petrochemicals LLC is a joint venture between BASF Corporation and Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc. The Port Arthur facility operates one of the largest steam crackers in the world, turning naphtha and light hydrocarbons into ethylene, propylene and other chemical raw materials. The products from the cracker are in turn used in the manufacturing of hundreds of consumer products. The facility also includes the world's largest butadiene extraction unit and an indirect alkylation unit. Butadiene is used in the production of rubber and plastics. Alkylate is used as a fuel additive for high octane gasoline blending.
Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc. Total S.A. is one of the largest integrated international oil and gas companies with operations in more than 130 countries worldwide. Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc. (TPRI) is structured within Total S.A.'s Refining & Chemicals Division in the Refining Petrochemicals Americas Branch. TPRI is headquartered in Houston and is a major producer of base chemicals, styrene, polystyrene, polypropylene and polyethylene in the United States. Its refinery produces transportation fuels and other petroleum-based products for the global market. The company employs more than 1,600 who work in support of manufacturing and research/development activities in Texas and Louisiana. Visit us online at www.totalpetrochemicalsrefiningusa.com
BASF - The Chemical CompanyBASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 16,000 employees in North America, and had sales of $20 billion in 2011. For more information about BASF's North American operations, visit www.basf.us.