Orlen to buy butadiene plant builder from Synthos for $193 million

GDANSK, ‌Dec 18 (Reuters) - Polish state-controlled refiner Orlen ‍said ‌on Thursday it had signed a ⁠deal with chemicals ‌group Synthos to acquire a company building a new butadiene extraction unit at ⁠its production plant in the city of Plock ​in central Poland.

The deal has ‌an enterprise value ⁠of 692 million zlotys ($193 million) and it will lengthen Orlen's petrochemical value ​chain, the company said, adding that the final settlement is expected by the end of June 2026.

The extraction ​unit ‍was initiated ​as part of the Olefins III expansion, a model under which Orlen said it did not have operational or ownership control over the investment.

Last December, ⁠Orlen decided to revise the Olefins III project and ​proceed with a new framework called "New Chemistry", after its costs spiralled and a state audit revealed ‌significant losses.

($1 = 3.5896 zlotys)

(Reporting by Rafal Nowak in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)