Three firms vie for BP's China petrochemicals plant - sources

SK discovery

15/09/2016 10:51

* SK Chemicals, Borealis and Ineos to bid - sources 
    * First bidding round to close in the coming days 
 
    By Arno Schuetze and Ron Bousso 
    FRANKFURT/LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - At least three leading 
chemical companies are set to vie for BP's  BP.L  stake in 
Chinese petrochemicals joint venture SECCO which could fetch 
more than $2 billion, sources close to the process said. 
    Offers for the 50 percent stake, the British oil and gas 
company's largest investment in China, will be submitted in the 
coming days, the sources said. 
    SK Chemicals Co Ltd  006120.KS , a pharmaceutical unit of 
South Korea's SK Group; Austrian plastics group Borealis 
 BESGR.UL , owned by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund IPIC and 
oil and gas company OMV  OMVV.VI ; and privately-owned 
Switzerland-based chemicals company Ineos  INGRP.UL  are set to 
bid for the asset, the sources said, speaking on condition of 
anonymity as the information isn't public. 
    At least one other company is considering entering the 
bidding round. 
    BP's partner in the joint venture, state-owned China 
Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec)  600028.SS0386.HK , has a 
right of first refusal. It has said it is discussing the 
conditions put forward by BP, but has made no 
decision. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1AQ2N0 
    BP and the three potential bidders declined to comment or 
were not immediately available to comment. 
    SECCO, a venture formed in 2001, produces ethylene and 
propylene, which are used to make resins, plastics and synthetic 
rubbers. 
    BP, like other of the world's top oil companies, is in the 
midst of a divestment drive in order to focus its business and 
boost cash flow in the wake of the halving of oil prices since 
mid-2014. It is planning sales worth $3-$5 billion this year. 
    The company has sold more than $50 billion of assets since a 
deadly explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.  
    BP has sold several assets to Ineos in recent years, 
including the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland as part of a $9 
billion sale of the olefins and refining business Innovene in 
2005.   
 
 (Additional reporting by Denny Thomas in Hong Kong; Editing by 
Mark Potter) 
 ((ron.bousso@thomsonreuters.com; +44)(0)(2075422161; Reuters 
Messaging: ron.bousso.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: BP CHINA/CHEMICALS