SINOPEC, Sabic JV to build $1.7bn ethylene complex in China

Beijing, China – China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec Corp.) and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) are to form a  50:50 joint venture to establish a $1.7 billion, 1000-kilotonne -per-annum ethylene derivatives complex - 600,000 ktpa polyethylene and 400 ktpa of ethylene glycol - in Tianjin. The facility will source its ethylene feedstock from an ethylene cracker owned by Tianjin Petrochemical Co., part of Sinopec. The complex is scheduled to be completed by September 2009.

SABIC has been developing a close relationship with Sinopec in recent years. Engineers from the Chinese group are currently helping to construct a world-scale polyolefins complex for SABIC affiliate Yanbu National Petrochemicals Co. in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.

A Heads of Agreement was signed at a ceremony in Beijing  by SABIC chairman, Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud, and Sinopec Corp. chairman, Su Shulin, who stated: “The new joint venture with Sinopec Corp. will further strengthen the links between our two companies. This will be SABIC’s first joint venture in China and we hope this will lead to more joint ventures and a strong relationship with Sinopec in the important China market.”

China is an important market for SABIC’s global strategy, added  said Mohamed Al-Mady, vice chairman and CEO of SABIC: "This Heads of Agreement is a key milestone towards realizing SABIC’s goal of establishing a manufacturing centre in Asia. This facility in Tianjin will serve customers in the world’s fastest growing market, and is an important component in SABIC’s corporate strategy of being among the world’s top petrochemical companies by 2020.”