Total Petrochemicals USA

It purchased the small petroleum companies Panhandle Oil Co. in 1956 and the American Liberty Co. of Dallas in 1957, in order to begin actual operations In June 2000, Fina Oil & Chemical Co. was renamed Atofina Petrochemicals Inc. and the headquarters moved to Houston Texas.

In 1968, it acquired Gulf Oil's Calumet City, Illinois facilities, to build a polystyrene plant.

In 1997 FINA formed a joint venture with BASF to build world's largest naphtha steam cracker facility, opened in 2001.

After the acquisition of Elf Acquitaine, the chemicals division of the company was named ATOFINA Petrochemicals Inc.[citation needed] On 1 October 2004, the name was changed to Total Petrochemicals USA, Inc.[2] The firm now employs more than 7000 employees, and has sales of $3.4 billion.

[3] In early 2005, Total Petrochemicals USA signed a lease to occupy space in the Louisiana Place.

[5] The company signed a 15 year lease for 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of space and had scheduled to relocate 250 employees by November 2005.