PRODUCT PROSPECTUS
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BP CHEMICALS RESHAPES IN EUROPE Integrating assets obtained through acquisitions and ventures is the challenge for this year
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HE EUROPEAN PETROCHEMICAL operations in Lavera, near Marseille, industry has at least "reached the France, and in Cologne, Germany A lowcorner, if it hasn't turned it yet," density polyethylene plant in Wilton, Enaccording to Mike C. Buzzacott, gland, has already been closed. Moreover, group vice president for Europe the firm's R&D operations in Europe will at BP Chemicals. And that can only be be trimmed. good news: "On a global basis," he says, Supporting an announcement made "2001-02 is probably the worst time the earlier this month about capital spending industry has ever seen." delays, Buzzacott notes that spending this year will be about $800 million, down The difficult economic and market confrom $1.2 billion in ditions have heightened the pressure 2 0 0 1 . Main outlays on BP to pull together the chemical this year will be to operations it has acquired in Europe complete projects unover the past couple of years. der way, particularly Once a small U.K.-focused playthose in China. er, BP Chemicals has become a major petrochemical company in EuIn Europe, Buzzarope through a series of almost cott notes, the compaaccidental mergers and acquisitions. ny's highest priority Two of the deals were done primawill be to identify the rily to boost its parent company's site of its next plant for petroleum production and gasoline the polyester intermeretailing: the 1998 purchase ofAmodiate purified terephco and last year's acquisition of a ma- B U:ZZacott thalic acid, a decision jor stake in the oil operations of Gerexpected by the end of many'sVeba. the year. Originally, plans were to get the project—a $250 million-plus facility with annual capacity of about 500,000 metric WITH THOSE DEALS came Amoco's subtons—under way this year. It's on hold stantial chemicals business and an ethylnow for at least a year, but engineers are ene cracker and basic chemicals from Vereviewing all locations, including sites acba. Meanwhile, BP Chemicals bought out quired from Veba. the half-share of its partner Bayer in the petrochemical joint venture Erdolchemie Last year, according to Buzzacott, the and gained access to Solvay's polyolefins petrochemical industry was hit by high oil business through a new joint venture. prices, a sputtering global economy, and excess capacity as three big ethylene crack"That left us number one or two in polyers came onstream in the Middle East. mers in Europe, and certainly [number] one There are now improvements on all those in olefins," Buzzacott says. 'All these operfronts, he observes, so that the industry is ations need focusing on to turn them into "on an improving trend." an integrated set ofbusinesses." Europe accounts for about $6 billion ofBP Chemicals' Where it still suffers, however, is in pricannual sales, he says, or 4 0 % of its total. ing. The situation in profitability, he argues, has "gone supercritical. Polyolefins' The company has already embarked on margins must improve."Typically, there is a cost-cutting program that should save an almost equal balance, or perhaps a $250 million per year but claim at least 60/40 split, in the profits earned by olefins 2 , 0 0 0 jobs around the world. Roughly and polyolefins. Last year, however, the three-quarters of the job losses will be in balance shifted dramatically, with olefins Europe, with the largest hit at BP's chemaccounting for 90% of the profits earned. icals complex in Grangemouth, Scotland, W i t h polyolefins profits suffering, he where a high-density polyethylene plant points out, companies "can't invest, develwill be closed. op new products, and so on. It is just not Several other plant closures and prosustainable."—PATRICIA SHORT ductivity drives will affect BP Chemicals'
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