PIC to invest US$10 bln in 4 years to expand domestic and overseas operations

04-Aug-10

Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co. (PIC) plans to invest US$10 bln over the next four years in domestic and overseas projects in a bid to expand operations. Construction of its’ third mixed-feed olefins facility with 1.4 million ton ethylene capacity is being planned at approx US$5 bln, as per Bloomberg. The facility will have downstream facilities such as ethylene-glycol, polyethylene, polypropylene, depending on the mix of feed and is expected to be operational in 2016. PIC’s share in a proposed US$9 bln refinery and petrochemical complex in China’s Guangdong province is also part of the company’s projects. The project, in which PIC partners China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, awaits approval from the Chinese government by the end of the year, and is expected to be operational in 2015. PIC is mulling downstream operations from the paraxylene, for which it is conducting a preliminary study. The company is also seeking growth in areas where there would be opportunity for feedstock, possibly in Yemen, Algeria, Libya or Asia.