INEOS has announced it has reached an agreement with Eastman Chemical Company to purchase the Eastman Texas City site, including the 600kt Acetic Acid plant and all associated third party activities on the site, for circa $500 million.

Eastman and INEOS have also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to explore options for a long-term supply agreement for vinyl acetate monomer.

David Brooks, CEO INEOS Acetyls, comments "We are delighted to announce this strategic acquisition which will help drive our global ambition for our Acetyls business. The site is ideally placed to take advantage of competitively priced feedstocks which will help support the growth of our business and sustainable future of the site."

Currently INEOS licenses its leading Cativa Acetic Acid Technology to Eastman Chemical Texas City for production of Acetic Acid at the site.

“We are happy to have reached this agreement with INEOS. They have been a strong partner with us at the Texas City site and have extensive experience and a complementary position in the acetyls space,” said Erwin Dijkman, Division President, Chemical Intermediates.

“Our Texas City Operations is an attractive site with an incredible team of people, and we are pleased that INEOS plans to further invest in and grow the site. We look forward to working closely with INEOS as we prepare for a seamless transition later this year, and longer-term as operators of our plasticizer business at the site.”

All current employees on the Eastman Texas City site will transfer over to INEOS upon completion of the transaction. The plasticisers unit on the site will continue to be owned by Eastman, but will be operated and maintained by INEOS from closing.

The deal is targeted to close before the end of 2023, subject to regulatory approvals.