SPCo Starts Commercial Polymers Production In Jubail
Commercial production has started at Saudi Polymers Company (SPCo), joint venture partner Chevron Phillips announced on 1 October. Construction work began in January 2008, with first production achieved in mid-2012. MEES understands that start-up was delayed by design issues discovered during commissioning that required additional safety measures to be implemented (MEES, 2 July). SPCo is owned 65% by Petrochem, which is traded on Riyadh�s Tadawul stock exchange, and the Arabian Chevron Phillips Petrochemical Company subsidiary of Chevron Phillips Chemical.
A Chevron Phillips Chemical statement quoted SPCo Executive President Mike Zeglin as saying: �We are proud to report we�ve safely achieved start-up and commercial production for our new facilities. We will now be working to fill the critical inventory targets needed to ensure our long term reliability as a supplier of quality products.�
The SPCo complex comprises world-scale operating units with capacities to produce: 1.22mn tons/year of ethylene; 440,000 t/y of propylene; 1.1mn t/y of polyethylene; 400,000 t/y of polypropylene; 200,000 t/y of polystyrene; and 100,000 t/y of 1-hexene. In addition to direct sales to serve local Saudi demand, SPCo will manufacture products to serve growing global demand outside the kingdom through its exclusive distributor Gulf Polymers Distribution Company, utilizing Chevron Phillips Chemical�s global marketing network.
Engineering, procurement and construction services contracts for the plant were awarded in 2007 to South Korea�s Daelim Industrial Company and Japan�s JGC Corporation. Daelim was responsible for the two polyethylene trains, the polypropylene train and the two polystyrene trains. JGC handled the cracker, the metathesis unit (to boost propylene output) and the 1-hexene unit.
Copyright MEES 2012.
