(EnergyAsia, January 23 2013, Wednesday) — Germany’s BASF and Malaysian state energy firm Petronas said they have terminated an agreement to jointly develop a specialty chemicals venture that was part of a proposed RM120-billion oil-petrochemical complex to be developed in the southern state of Johor. (US$1=RM3.05).

According to the heads of agreement the companies signed last March, BASF would have a 60% stake in the new joint venture to own, develop, construct and operate new plants to produce isononanol, highly reactive polyisobutylene, non-ionic surfactants, methanesulphonic acid and precursor materials. The plant was to form part of Petronas’s proposed Refinery & Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) complex in the coastal town of Pengerang, located north of Singapore.

In separate statements, the two companies said they decided to terminate the March 5 agreement as they “were unable to come to an agreement on the terms and conditions for the implementation of the proposed venture.”

However, they affirmed their commitment to continuing their existing long-term partnership at the BASF Petronas Chemicals in Pahang state.