Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has plans to expand investment in USA shale gas projects through joint ventures, according to acting CEO Yousef al Benyan
SABIC had signed an agreement in April this year with Texas-based natural gas and crude oil pipeline company Enterprise Products Partners L.P. to get shale gas in Riyadh.
The Saudi Arabian firm may use the feedstock in the USA or export it to other countries such as the UK, the executive added.
“The main areas in the USA we are looking to invest in are the northeast and the south as they fit our overall expectations including government support, labour laws and unions,” al-Benyan noted. “At this point we are not looking to acquire any USA companies.”
The Marcellus shale formation spread across Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio is USA’s biggest natural gas producer, with output rising more than 14-fold since January 2007.
SABIC, which in 2007 bought GE plastics unit for US$11.6bn, earlier said that it plans to expand in China and the USA because it’s difficult for the company to grow in Saudi Arabia due to a shortage of gas. The firm added to say that that it would not be directly involved in Saudi Arabia’s shale production.
SABIC also announced that it made a net profit of US$1.64bn in the three months ending 30 June 2015. However, the net profits of SABIC declined by 21.63 per cent in the first half of this year, compared with same period of the previous year, amounting to US$2.69bn.
