Mitsubishi, Shell in Canada

Mitsubishi, Shell in Canada

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. is to jointly produce ethylene glycol in Canada from early 2000 with Shell Chemicals Canada, a Royal Dutch Shell Group company, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said yesterday.

A plant with annual capacity of 400,000 tons would be built at a Shell Chemicals plant in Edmonton, Alberta, with an estimated investment of 300 million Canadian dollars (US$230 million), the leading business daily said.

Ethylene glycol is a raw material for polyester fibers and polyethylene terephthalic (PET) resin.

Output from the plant will be sold in Asia, where demand for synthetic resins and fibers is soaring, the daily said.

Mitsubishi Chemical, the largest chemical manufacturer in Japan, is expected to shoulder part of the construction cost, and buy 100,000 tons annually for sale in Asia, the daily said.