Dow and Petrochemical Industries name joint venture

17 July 2008

The US’ Dow Chemical Company and Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) have named their planned joint venture company K-Dow Petrochemicals (KDP). The new firm will be headquartered in the US state of Michigan.

The $11bn 50:50 joint venture is due to be finalised by the end of the year once all definitive agreements, regulatory approvals and customary conditions have been reached.

Dow and PIC, a subsidiary of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), announced the joint venture last year. Under the terms of the deal, PIC will take a 50 per cent stake in five of Dow’s basic chemical businesses, producing and marketing polyethylene, ethyleneamines, ethanolamines, polypropylene, and polycarbonate.

KDP will be headed by James Fitterling, business group president for Dow Basic Plastics. He will assume the role once the company is formed.

Dow also recently acquired US specialty chemicals producer Rohm & Haas in a deal worth more than $15bn. In May, Rohm & Haas signed a joint venture agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee & Sahara Petrochemical Company to take a minority stake in its planned acrylic complex at Jubail (MEED 20:4:08).

It is unclear if or how the Dow acquisition of Rohm & Haas will impact on the project.

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