Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy has approvedthe allocation of feedstock to set up two new petrochemical complexes in Jubail.
One of the allocations granted was for a joint feasibility study to set up Saudi producer Sipchem's and major petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell's (LYB) new complex in Jubail, according to the firms last week. The joint project is expected to have a mixed feed cracker and a production capacity of 1.5mn t/yr of ethylene and 1.8mn t/yr of polymer derivates.
The project is expected to utilise LYB technology for production and will be majority owned by Sipchem, with the firm having a 60pc share of ownership. A target date for the project launch was not provided, with the project still in early stages of development.
Sipchem and LyondellBasell also jointly own the Al-Waha Petrochemical Company, with a 75pc and 25pc stake respectively. Al-Waha has a production capacity of 465,000 t/yr of propylene and 450,000 t/yr of polypropylene. Sipchem also announced plans to increase propylene and polypropylene production capacities by 72,000 t/yr and 150,000 t/yr respectively at the Al-Waha complex, with the expansion planned to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2026.
Separately, Saudi producer Tasnee also received the Ministry of Energy's approval for feedstock allocation to establish a petrochemical complex in Jubail, according to a notice on Saudi Exchange on 26 February. The project has a target start date in the fourth quarter of 2030 and is expected to have a production capacity of 3.3mn t/yr of high-density polyethylene (PE), linear low-density PE and MTBE, as well as a thermal cracker for ethylene production. It is also expected to produce specialised products such as block co-polymer, polyether polyols and phthalate-free plasticisers.
