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.