Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) has said its joint-venture affiliate, Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company (Kemya), has awarded EPC contracts to Daelim Industries, Technip, and Tecnicas Reunidas for its elastomers project in Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia
The next stage of the elastomers project development has been estimated to cost $3.4 billion and the facility, which has been scheduled for completion in 2015, will be integrated within the existing Jubail complex.
Upon completion, the facility will have the capacity to produce up to 400,000 tonnes per year of rubber including halobutyl, styrene butadiene, polybutadiene, and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubbers, thermoplastic specialty polymers, and carbon black, which will serve local markets, the wider Middle East and Asia.
SABIC vice chairman and chief executive officer, Mohamed Al-Mady, commented, “The strategic partnership between SABIC and ExxonMobil provides the strength of industry-leading competitive assets and introduces new specialty products to the kingdom.”
Neil Chapman, senior VP - polymers for ExxonMobil, added, “The expansion will employ the latest proprietary processes and product technologies to meet the growing global demand for specialty elastomers.”
Along with its elastomers facility, Sabic will also establish a High Institute for Elastomer Industries (HIEI), a vocational training centre in Yanbu, a product application centre in Riyadh and thermoplastic polyolefin compounding and inventory management facilities in Jubail.
“The HIEI, product support centre, and the Kemya elastomers facility together build a strong foundation for investments in targeted industries such as tire manufacturing, building and construction, automotive and appliances,” said Sabic executive vice president - performance chemicals Koos van Haasteren
Kemya is a 50:50 joint venture between Sabic and Exxon Chemical Arabia, an affiliate of ExxonMobil Chemical Company.
