Kuwait Scrubs $17 Billion Joint Venture With Dow

Only one day ago, the headline of an article in the Midland (Mich.) Daily News read as follows:  Dow: K-Dow project will move forward.  Today, a completely different story surfaced in the form of  a news release The Dow Chemical Company issued early this afternoon about the $17.4 billion joint venture project with the government of Kuwait:

“Today, The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) has been verbally informed by our partners at the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and Petrochemicals Industries Company (PIC) about a decision made by the Kuwait Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC), to reverse its prior approval of the agreement between Dow and PIC to enter into K-Dow Petrochemicals, a planned 50-50 joint venture company. The partners have informed us that there will be official written notification of the decision within the next few days.

“Dow is extremely disappointed with the decision by the Kuwait Government, and is in the process of evaluating its options pursuant to the Joint Venture Formation Agreement. While disappointed in this outcome, Dow remains committed to its Middle East Strategy.”

Though this latest news has yet to appear on the virtual pages of OurMidland.com, it is sure to make headlines tomorrow in the hometown of the petrochemical giant.

-- Bob McCarty Writes