BP licenses its latest generation PTA technology in Turkey

BP and SOCAR TURKEY ENERJI A.Ş (SOCAR Turkey) have entered into a licensing agreement for BP’s latest generation purified terephthalic acid (PTA) technology.

SOCAR Turkey intends to deploy the technology in its new 900,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) unit at Aliağa, Turkey, expected to come on stream by 2023 once the final investment decision is taken.

“BP is committed to providing products and solutions to help our customers reduce their carbon footprint. We are proud to build on BP’s long-standing relationship with SOCAR Turkey to license and deploy this technology into their facility in Turkey. This is a testimony to the advantages of BP’s technology,” said Rita Griffin, chief operating officer, BP Petrochemicals.

Emil Eminov, SOCAR Turkey chief operating officer, said: “This investment is highly strategic for us, fulfilling our intent to create a value chain by integrating our newly-announced aromatics complex adjacent to the STAR refinery and PETKİM plant in Aliağa with the most competitive PTA technology. This will create the most competitive asset in Turkey and the Middle East and will serve the high demand for PTA in Turkey and surrounding regions.”

BP Petrochemicals’ PTA technology has significantly lower capital and operating costs when compared with other PTA technologies. The technology is more energy efficient, uses less water and produces less solid waste than similar technologies on the market. BP Petrochemicals continues to invest in proprietary PTA technology to maintain its position as a market leader and technology of choice. New innovations are available to licensees.

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• PTA is the primary feedstock for polyesters used in the textile and packaging industry.
• BP’s global petrochemicals business had total (net to BP) capacity in 2016 of 18.6 million tpa including 6.2 million tpa of PTA production. BP’s PTA technology was originally developed in the USA in the 1950s and through successive iterations has continued to improve in terms of its capital and operating costs.
• SOCAR TURKEY ENERJI A.Ş (SOCAR Turkey) is a subsidiary of SOCAR, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic, and is Turkey’s largest international investor with multiple investments in the energy area.
• SOCAR Turkey’s investments include: PETKİM, Turkey’s leading petrochemicals manufacturer; STAR Refinery, which is due to begin operations in 2018; and PETLİM, the largest container port on Turkey’s Aegean Sea coast. SOCAR Turkey intends to construct a new aromatics unit to produce paraxylene (PX) unit adjacent to the newly-constructed STAR refinery located in Aliağa.

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Cautionary statement

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning BP’s expectations regarding the licensing agreement signed between BP and SOCAR TURKEY ENERJI A.Ş (STEAS) concerning BP’s latest generation purified terephthalic acid (PTA) technology, including STEAS’s intentions and expectations regarding the construction of a new unit and the estimated completion time thereof; BP’s plans and expectations regarding, knowledge transfer services and the development of Turkish staff; BP’s expectations that BP’s PTA technology will maintain its position as a global leader and that BP will continue to develop and implement innovations such technology; and STEAS’s expectations that the license will contribute to the creation of the most competitive polyester value change in Turkey. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will or may occur in the future. Actual results may differ from those expressed in such statements, depending on a variety of factors including changes in public expectations and other changes to business conditions; the receipt of relevant third-party and or regulatory approvals; future levels of industry product supply; demand and pricing; economic and financial conditions generally or in various countries and regions; the timing and nature of maintenance outages; operational problems; political stability and economic growth in relevant areas of the world; changes in laws and governmental regulations; regulatory or legal actions; the actions of competitors, trading partners and others; natural disasters and adverse weather conditions; wars and acts of terrorism, cyber-attacks or sabotage; and other factors discussed under “Principal risks and uncertainties” in our Stock Exchange Announcement for the period ended 30 June 2017 and under “Risk factors” in our Annual Report and Form 20-F 2016 as filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.