Saudi Basic Industries, Sinopec in $1.7 billion China joint venture

01 February 2008

Mumbai: Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has signed a joint venture agreement with China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) for building a one million tonnes per annum capacity ethylene derivatives project.

SABIC chairman, Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud, and Sinopec Corp. Chairman, Su Shulin signed the agreement at a function in Beijing yesterday.

The two companies will have equal stake in the project, to be set up in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin.

Construction of the complex, involving investment of $1.7 billion, the first China joint venture of SABIC, is slated for completion in September 2009.

When completed, the complex would produce 600,000 tonnes of polyethylene and 400,000 tonnes of ethylene glycol, SABIC said.

The complex will receive all its feedstock from an ethylene cracker owned by Tianjin Petrochemical Company of Sinopec.