HOUSTON and JOHANNESBURG — LyondellBasell and Sasol have entered into a definitive agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture (JV) through which LyondellBasell will acquire 50 percent of Sasol’s 1.5-million- ton ethane cracker, 0.9-million-ton low and linear-low density polyethylene plants, and associated infrastructure for a total consideration of $2 billion. The agreement includes customary rights for each partner regarding the potential future sale of its ownership interest. The JV will operate under the name Louisiana Integrated PolyEthylene JV LLC.

Under the terms of the transaction agreements, each JV partner will provide pro-rata shares of ethane feedstocks and will offtake pro-rata shares of cracker and polyethylene products at cost. LyondellBasell will operate the U.S. Base Chemicals assets on behalf of the JV.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2020.

For more information, visit www.lyondellbasell.com or www.sasol.com.