Chinese SR producer PetroChina joins IISRP

HOUSTON (March 26)—PetroChina Co. Ltd., one of China's largest petrochemical groups and a leading synthetic rubber producer, has joined the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers Inc. PetroChina produces BR, SBR, XSBR, NBR, EPM and EPDM at five sites in China: Daquing, Dushanzi, Jilin, Jinzhou and Lanzhou. The firm is the second Chinese member-company of the IISRP, following Sinopec, which joined in 1997. "China has the greatest synthetic rubber growth rate in the world, and both PetroChina and Sinopec have come to recognize the value of IISRP membership," James McGraw, IISRP managing director and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement. The IISRP had been trying to recruit the company for more than a year, he added. The IISRP now claims to represent 49 corporate members in 22 countries, producing more than 90 percent of the world's synthetic rubber supply.