Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009
(This item was originally published Monday.)
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Saudi International Petrochemical Co. (2310.SA), or Sipchem, expects its acetyl complex in Jubail to be fully operational before the end of 2009, a senior company executive said Monday.
"We have already started testing operations at the complex this month, and we expect the complex to be fully operational before the end of this year," Abdullatif Bhairi, vice president for planning and project development at Sipchem, told Zawya Dow Jones.
Sipchem, listed on the Saudi bourse, last month started testing operations at the complex's carbon monoxide plant, the largest of its kind in the world with an annual production capacity of 345,000 tons a year, Bhairi said.
The carbon monoxide will be used to produce acetic acid and a number of other products. Acetyls are intermediate petrochemicals used in various industries.
Sipchem is also in the final stages of preparations to launch its acetic acid and vinyl acetate monomer, or VAM, units, Bhairi added. The plants will have annual production capacities of 450,000 tons and 330,000 tons respectively.
Sipchem in July said it was investing SAR13 billion ($3.4 billion) over the next three years to double its annual production of petrochemicals to 2.5 million tons.
The company also said at the time it would create a joint venture with South Korea's Hanwha Chemical Co., in which Sipchem will own 75%, to build a new SAR4 billion petrochemicals complex in Jubail that will produce 200,000 tons of phenol ethylene and 125,000 tons of polyphenols.
Spichem shares were trading 0.25% higher at 0810GMT at SAR20.15.
-By Summer Said, Dow Jones Newswires; +971 4 3644967; summer.said@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-09-09 0425GMT
