Reuters: BASF plans record spend on U.S. plant, lured by shale gas

BASF, the world's No.1 chemicals company by sales, said it could spend more than 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion) to build a petrochemical plant in the United States, joining global peers attracted by cheap shale gas there.

Natural gas is about three times cheaper in the United States than in Europe, encouraging BASF to redirect investment away from its home region, which still accounts for more than half of group sales.

The planned plant on the U.S. Gulf Coast - which would be BASF's largest investment in a single facility - would convert natural gas into propylene, a key building block for advanced materials such as insulation foams, lubricants and superabsorbants for diapers.
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