INEOS, a privately owned UK multinational chemicals company, agreed to acquire the petrochemicals business of BP, a multinational oil and gas company, for $5bn. "This is another significant step as we steadily work to reinvent BP. These businesses are leaders in their sectors, with world-class technologies, plants and people. In recent years they have improved performance to produce highly competitive returns and now have the potential for growth and expansion into the circular economy," Bernard Looney, BP CEO.