Dow Chemical 2015 Annual Report Download - page 24

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Aligned 100 percent with Performance Plastics:
• The Kuwait Styrene Company K.S.C. - a Kuwait-based company that manufactures styrene monomer; owned
42.5 percent by the Company.
• The SCG-Dow Group consists of Siam Polyethylene Company Limited; Siam Polystyrene Company Limited;
Siam Styrene Monomer Co., Ltd.; and Siam Synthetic Latex Company Limited. These Thailand-based companies
manufacture polyethylene, polystyrene, styrene and latex; owned 50 percent by the Company.
Performance Plastics includes a portion of the results of:
• EQUATE Petrochemicals Company K.S.C. ("EQUATE") - a Kuwait-based company that manufactures ethylene,
polyethylene and ethylene glycol; owned 42.5 percent by the Company.
• The Kuwait Olefins Company K.S.C. - a Kuwait-based company that manufactures ethylene and ethylene glycol;
owned 42.5 percent by the Company.
• Map Ta Phut Olefins Company Limited - effective ownership is 32.77 percent of which the Company directly
owns 20.27 percent (aligned with Performance Materials & Chemicals) and indirectly owns 12.5 percent through
its equity interest in Siam Polyethylene Company Limited and Siam Synthetic Latex Company Limited (both part
of The SCG-Dow Group and aligned with Performance Plastics). This Thailand-based company manufactures
propylene and ethylene.
• Sadara Chemical Company - a development-stage Saudi Arabian company that will manufacture chlorine,
ethylene and propylene for internal consumption and will produce and sell high-value added chemical products
and performance plastics; owned 35 percent by the Company.
On May 5, 2015, Univation Technologies, LLC, previously a 50:50 joint venture between Dow and ExxonMobil Chemical
Company, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow.
On December 23, 2015, the Company sold its 50 percent ownership interest in MEGlobal, a manufacturer and marketer of
monoethylene glycol, diethylene glycol and polyethylene terephthalate resins headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to
EQUATE. MEGlobal was aligned 100 percent with the Performance Materials & Chemicals segment through the date of
divestiture. Dow has retained 42.5 percent ownership stake in MEGlobal through its ownership in EQUATE.
Divestitures
On December 2, 2013, the Company sold its Polypropylene Licensing and Catalysts business to W. R. Grace & Co. This
business was reported in the Performance Plastics segment through the date of divestiture.
Future Investments
The Company announced a number of investments in the U.S. Gulf Coast to take advantage of increasing supplies of low-cost
natural gas and NGLs derived from shale gas. As a result of these investments, the Company’s exposure to purchased ethylene
and propylene is expected to decline, offset by increased exposure to ethane and propane based feedstocks. The Company
announced investments in a new on-purpose propylene production facility, which commenced operations in December 2015,
and a new, world-scale ethylene production facility, which is expected to start-up in the first half of 2017, both located in
Freeport, Texas. As a result of these U.S. Gulf Coast investments, Dow’s ethylene production capabilities are expected to
increase by as much as 20 percent.
The Company announced the location of four new Performance Plastics production facilities to be built on the U.S. Gulf Coast,
which include an ELITE™ Polymer production facility in Freeport, Texas; a Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) production
facility in Plaquemine, Louisiana; a NORDEL™ Metallocene EPDM production facility in Plaquemine, Louisiana; and a High
Melt Index (HMI) AFFINITY™ Polymer production facility in Freeport, Texas. Leveraging a low cost ethylene supply from
advantaged feedstock positions from U.S. shale gas, these production facilities will support expected profitable growth of the
Company's high value Performance Plastics franchise.
CORPORATE
Corporate includes certain enterprise and governance activities (including insurance operations, geographic management, risk
management such as foreign currency hedging activities, audit fees, donations, Company branding initiatives, etc.); the results
of Ventures (including business incubation platforms and non-business aligned joint ventures); environmental operations; gains
and losses on the sales of financial assets; severance costs; non-business aligned litigation expenses (including asbestos-related
defense costs and reserve adjustments); and, foreign exchange results.