Indorama Ventures Public Ltd. (IVL; Bangkok, Thailand; www.indorama.net) and Compañía Española de Petróleos S.A.U. (Cepsa; Madrid, Spain; www.cepsa.com) announced the expansion of their strategic partnership with the signing of an exclusive supply agreement for meta-xylene, a key feedstock for the production of Isopthalic Acid (IPA), a high value-added chemical additive used in the manufacture of PET, coatings and other resins.
Following the supply agreement, Cepsa will construct its second meta-xylene unit for exclusive supply to IVL. The new Sorbex unit, a near replication of the existing unit, will have a capacity up to 70,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr). Together with the existing meta-xylene unit, Cepsa will be able to supply the entire production to Indorama Ventures’ co-located site, which is integrated with Cepsa’s refinery in San Roque, Cádiz, Spain. The additional new supply is expected to come on-stream in 2018.
Indorama Ventures acquired the vertically-integrated business of IPA, PTA and PET from Cepsa in Spain in April 2016 and expects to make further investments at this location to improve the capacity, reliability of supply and service of goods to customers in a competitive environment, maintaining the site’s excellent track record driven by its dedicated and passionate employees. Mr. Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of IVL said, “This agreement will allow us to cater to our customers’ growing IPA needs globally, from a reliable production platform with proven technology and a competitive supply chain infrastructure. The global IPA market is growing at five percent per annum and it is our responsibility as a leader to support the growth effectively.”