BP to sell Chinese joint venture stake to Sinopec

Oil giant BP has agreed to sell its 50% stake in China’s Shanghai Secco Petrochemical to Gaoqiao Petrochemical, a subsidiary of state-owned Sinopec, for $1.7 billion (£1.3 billion).

Rita Griffin, chief operating officer of BP Global Petrochemicals said in a statement that the decision ‘aligns our petrochemicals business in China with our global focus on areas where BP has leading proprietary technologies and competitive advantage’.

Secco – which produces ethylene and propylene, plus polymers and other derivatives – is already 30% owned by Sinopec, with the remaining 20% belonging to Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical, in which Sinopec holds a majority stake.

BP will continue to invest in China, where it has three other petrochemical manufacturing joint ventures: purified terephthalic acid (PTA) production in Zhuhai; and acetic acid and other acetyls production with Yaraco in Chongqing and Byaco in Nanjing.