INTERQUISA and SGF to Form a Joint Venture for Construction of a PTA Plant in Montreal

MONTREAL (PROTEXT) - INTERQUISA (100% CEPSA) and Societe generale de financement du Quebec (SGF) have begun the basic engineering work for construction of a Purified Therephthalic Acid (PTA) plant in the Montreal-East industrial park. The project will create more than 150 new jobs. The two parties would form a joint venture in which INTERQUISA would own 51% of the shares and SGF 49%. According to the work schedule, the company should launch operations in the first half of 2002. This multi-million dollars project will use leading-edge technology developed by INTERQUISA. The new plant will primarily serve the growing demand for PTA in the North American market. Forecasted capacity for the plant is 500,000 tonnes annually. "This project is an important step within the globalisation strategy of the petrochemical operations of CEPSA," said Carlos Perez de Bricio, Chairman and CEO of CEPSA. "The growing PTA industry will be well-served by the proximity of raw materials, qualified manpower and quality of existing infrastructures," said Claude Blanchet, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of SGF. INTERQUISA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Compania Espagnola de Petroleos (CEPSA) which is the second largest oil company in Spain with 25% of the Spanish oil market and an installed refining capacity of 20,5 million tonnes. INTERQUISA has been a very active player in the PTA market for more than 20 years and at present produces its site of San Roque (Spain) Purified Therephthalic Acid (PTA), Purified Isophthalic Acid (PIPA) and Dimenthyl Terephthalate (DMT). This new project will be the first production facility of INTERQUISA outside Europe and will enhance its position in the market. CEPSA has been present in Quebec (Canada) since 1993 also through a joint venture with SGF, set up to manufacture and market Linear Alkybenzene (LAB) used as a tensioactive raw material in the production of biodegradable detergents. The output of the B_ cancour plant, with a yearly capacity production of 120,000 tonnes, is directed mostly towards North American markets. The mission of SGF is to carry out economic development projects, in cooperation with partners and in accordance with accepted requirements of profitability, particularly in the industrial sector. Since 1985, SGF has generated approximately $6.7 billion in investments, resulting in the creation of 22,000 direct and indirect jobs. At December 31, 1998, SGF's consolidated assets totaled $1.8 billion. Moreover, the consolidated assets of companies in which SGF holds interests total $10 billion. SGF is associated with 34 international partners conducting business operations in Quebec. ots Original Text Service: Societe generale de financement du Quebec Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Sylvie Brousseau, Communications and Public Relations of Societe generale de financement du Quebec, 514-876-9290 Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug "PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to be published under the "CTK" slug. Protext is a commercial service providing distribution of press releases from clients, who are identified in the text of Protext reports and who bear full responsibility for their contents. PROTEXT