New petrochem projects to be launched at Jubail-II

08-Jun-06

Several petrochemical and infrastructure projects are to be launched at the new Jubail Industrial City (Jubail-II) on Sunday, including the 75,000 tons Butanediol plant of the Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) – the first of its kind in the Middle East. Sipchem recently signed a SR4 billion contract with a consortium of Canadian, German and French firms for the construction of acetic acid and vinyl acetate plants in Jubail, with an annual production capacity of 460,000 tons. Last month, Saudi Aramco decided to partner with France’s Total to build a world-class oil refinery at an estimated cost of nearly SR22.5 billion ($6 billion.) The project is scheduled to begin operating in 2011. The Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) has signed an agreement to establish Saudi Kayan Petrochemicals Company- a SR12 billion ($3.2 billion) petrochemical company in Jubail. SABIC will hold a 35% stake in the new firm, Kayan Petrochemicals will own 20% and the remaining 45% will be put in an initial public offering (IPO) which is expected to be launched within two months.