Sibur and Sinopec start synthetic rubber JV at Krasnoyarsk

ERJ staff report (BC)

Moscow – China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and Russian petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group Sibur have signed a joint venture for a development at the Krasnoyarsk synthetic rubber plant (KZSK). Sinopec purchased 25 percent + 1 share of the KZSK company.

Vladimir Razumov, executive director at Sibur, said: “… China is a major consumer of KZSK’s nitrile butadiene rubbers. With a strong partner like Sinopec on board, we can ramp up KZSK’s capacity and drive growth in synthetic rubber sales.”

The JV shareholders are considering expanding KZSK’s capacity from 42 500 to 56 000 tonnes per year.

Sibur and Sinopec are also discussing establishing a joint venture to manufacture nitrile butadiene rubber and isoprene rubber in Shanghai. An annual capacity of 50 000 tonnes of each rubber is expected, subject to a feasibility study.