BP and Sinopec have announced they are planning to build a major new acetic acid plant in China.

The firms will develop a new 500,000 tonne per year facility at Nanjing, in the Jiangsu province.

In a joint statement issued today the two firms said they expected the facility to be online in the second half of 2007.

Lord Browne, BP chief executive, said the project was indicative of the potential for further cooperation between the two firms.

"Working together, Sinopec and BP have demonstrated their capability to deliver world class investment opportunities at the world class standards to supply the rapidly expanding petrochemicals market in China," he said.

"Our joint investment in a new acetic acid plant serves as a further evidence of BP's long-term commitment to China and our strategic partnership with Sinopec."

The plant will utilise BP's CATIVA technology and is split down the middle with Sinopec on a 50:50 basis.

Acetic acid is a significant intermediate and is used mainly in the production of vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), which is used in the production of polyvinyl acetate (PVA), and in the production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), which is used in polyester manufacture.

There are several different manufacturing processes for acetic acid, each of which uses a platinum group metal catalyst.