BASF and Sinopec to build new production plant for neopentylglycol in China

BASF and Sinopec will build a new world-scale production plant for neopentylglycol (NPG) at their Verbund site, BASF-YPC Co., Ltd., a 50-50 joint venture in Nanjing, China.

The plant, with a total annual capacity of about 40,000 t is planned to go on stream at the end of 2015. The new NPG plant will benefit from backward integration into the Nanjing Verbund site, allowing high delivery reliability and maximising efficient use of energy and resources, says the company. BASF has NPG production facilities in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Freeport, USA and Jilin, China.

“With this new plant, we are responding to our customers’ growing demand for high-quality neopentylglycol, especially in the Asia Pacific region, and at the same time strengthening our position as the global leading supplier of NPG,” said Sanjeev Gandhi, President, BASF Intermediates division. “We have 55 years of experience in manufacturing and supplying neopentylglycol to our customers across a broad range of industries.”

“With this project, Sinopec and BASF are fully utilising their strengths regarding resources, technology, talent and management. Furthermore, with this investment we are building on the core competitiveness of both partners,” said Wang Jingyi, Chairman and General Manager of Sinopec YPC and Chairman of BASF-YPC.