Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) expects another difficult year for the chemicals industry in 2024, Bloomberg reported.

“This was a bad year for the chemical industry,” CEO Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh told the news agency.

“I’m not sure whether 2024 is going to have any pickup. It does not seem to be,” he added.

The company is now focused on developing technology with Aramco to turn crude oil into chemicals, the report said.

In November last year, SABIC announced plans to start a project in Ras Al Khair industrial city with Saudi Aramco to convert 400,000 barrels per day of crude into chemicals.

SABIC reported a loss of 2.88 billion riyals ($768 million) in Q3 2023 on lower demand, following a drop in sales revenue.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com )