SABIC Aims To Triple Production Capacity By 2020
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) is aiming to triple its total production capacity within the next 10 years, according to statements made by CEO Muhammad al-Madi in Dubai on 7 December. Mr Madi said that the company was aiming to reach a production capacity of 130mn tons – including petrochemicals, fertilizers and steel – by 2020 through acquisitions and natural growth. Last year SABIC’s production capacity reached 56mn tons/year. He made the comments at the launch of the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) annual forum. Earlier he had told Al-Hayat newspaper that the firm was currently conducting feasibility studies for a number of new plants.
SABIC is currently involved in two joint venture projects. In June, SABIC announced that it had received Chinese approval for its $3bn joint venture with Sinopec in the region of Tianjin. The petrochemical complex is expected to come online in early 2010 and have a production capacity of 3.2mn t/y, including 600,000 t/y of polyethylene and 400,000 t/y of ethylene glycol (MEES, 9 November). In October, SABIC affiliate Ibn Hayyan announced a 50/50 joint venture with US firm Albemarle Corporation, known as Saudi Organometallic Chemicals Company (SOCC), which plans to build a production facility in al-Jubail, the first organometallics plant in the region (MEES, 2 November). The $80mn facility is expected to start up in early 2012 and to produce 6,000 t/y of triethyl aluminum (a catalyst for polymerization).
Copyright MEES 2009.
