Saudi state-controlled petrochemicals producer Sabic has taken a final investment decision (FID) to build a petrochemical complex in China's southeastern Fujian province.
The complex will comprise a mixed-feed steam cracker with capacity to produce up to 1.8mn t/yr of ethylene, alongside ethylene glycols (EG), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC) and other units. Sabic said the project will be developed in partnership with Fujian Fuhua Gulei Petrochemical at a cost of $6.4bn.
Sabic will hold a 51pc stake in the project and Fujian Fuhua Gulei the remaining 49pc. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first half of this year, and Sabic said it expects preparation for commissioning and start-up to begin from the second half of 2026 and take around six months.
Sabic said it will finance the project through debt and through its cash flow.
The FID comes more than five years after Sabic signed an preliminary deal with the Fujian provincial government and comes as part of a wider push by Saudi Arabia to expand its downstream co-operation with the world's top oil consumer. Earlier this month, Chinese private-sector refinery and petrochemical firm Rongsheng Petrochemical said it was in talks with Saudi state-owned Aramco to buy a significant stake in the latter's 305,000 b/d Sasref refinery in Jubail. Rongsheng said the companies are also exploring the possibility of Aramco acquiring up to 50pc of Zhongjin Petrochemical's 1.6mn t/yr paraxylene (PX) facility in Ningbo, Zhejiang province.
Aramco in 2023 agreed to buy a 10pc stake in Rongsheng Petrochemical for $3.37bn, in a deal that included a 480,000 b/d long-term crude supply deal for the latter's 800,000 b/d ZPC refinery in Zhoushan.
