In each case, formation of the joint ventures will involve PIC acquiring 50 per cent of Dow's existing ethylene derivatives capacity. ME Global, which will manufacture and market monoethylene glycol (MEG) and diethylene glycol, will have its head office in London. The company will purchase ethylene feedstock directly from Dow and will take over Dow's ethylene glycol (EG) assets in Canada, which consist of three plants with combined capacity of about 1 million tonnes a year (t/y). ME Global will also market any excess EG produced by Dow's plants in Europe and the US, while the joint venture agreement also provides for it to sell derivatives manufactured by Dow and PIC affiliates.

The formation of Equipolymerswill involve PIC acquiring 50 per cent of Dow's capacity in Germany and Italy for the production of polyethylene teraphthalate resins (PET) and purified teraphthalic acid (PTA). The company, which will have its headquarters in Switzerland, will be responsible for marketing 434,000 t/y of PET when a new train comes on stream in Germany later this year. Dow officials say that neither ME Global nor Equipolymers plan to invest in new capacity in the near future.

PIC has only two shareholdings outside Kuwait - a 33 per cent stake in Gulf Petrochemicals Industries Company (GIPC) in Bahrain and a minority shareholding in a petrochemicals complex in China. The company is working with Dow on the construction of the $1,500 million olefins II facility, which is a replica of the existing Equate plant, as well as a proposed styrene project (MEED 21:5:04).

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