Joint venture company plans to expand the annual production capacity of 2-Ethylhexanoic Acid (2-EHA) from 30,000 to 60,000 metric tons by 2024.

BASF Petronas Chemicals Sdn. Bhd., the joint venture between Germany’s BASF SE and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd., a subsidiary of Malaysian oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd. known as Petronas, launched on Thursday the expansion of a 2-Ethylhexanoic Acid plant in Malaysia.

The project in Kuantan, across from Kuala Lumpur on the country’s eastern coast, will double the joint venture’s annual production capacity of 2-EHAcid to 60,000 metric tons by the fourth quarter of 2024, the joint venture said.

The compound is a chemical intermediate used in the production of synthetic lubricants and oil additives. It is also used in automotive coolants, plasticizers, stabilizers and catalysts.

Outside of Malaysia, BASF produces 2-EHAcid at its site in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Source: BASF