LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY -- BASF SE and Chinese national oil firm Sinopec will develop a plant making plasticizer feedstock in Guangdong, China.

BASF - a plastics and chemicals giant based in Ludwigshafen, Germany - and Beijing-based Sinopec will form a new joint venture to make isononanol (INA). The 50-50 JV will operate as BASF MPCC Co. Ltd.

Production at the new plant is expected to begin in mid-2015. The plant will be integrated into an existing Sinopec plant there, allowing the firms to minimize water use, emissions and waste, officials said in a Jan. 22 news release.

BASF and Sinopec already jointly operate BASF-YPC Co. Ltd., a 50-50 petrochemicals joint venture in Nanjing, China.