LyondellBasell to acquire 35% of Saudi petrochemical company for $500 m

LyondellBasell, a global leader in petrochemicals, today announced the signing of an agreement to acquire a 35 per cent interest in Saudi Arabia–based National Petrochemical Industrial Company (NATPET), for approximately $500 million.

NATPET, which is owned by Alujain Corporation, uses LyondellBasell’s Spheripol polypropylene (PP) technology. 

The joint venture, according to LyondellBasell, will help it grow and upgrade its core PP business through access to advantaged feedstocks, plus additional product marketing capacity, in a strategic region.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary closing conditions. 

Alujain and LyondellBasell are also assessing potential construction of a new propylene via propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and PP facility at the NATPET site, subject to a final investment decision, says a press release. 

The project is being studied with a shared goal to implement solutions that align with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's 2060 carbon reduction strategy, the release added. 

Alujain is a petrochemicals, energy, mining and metals company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is the majority owner of NATPET, and longtime licensee of LyondellBasell’s Spheripol PP technology, which it uses to operate a propylene and PP complex in Yanbu Industrial City. NATPET currently has an annual PP production capacity of approximately 400,000 tons.

"This investment in NATPET reflects our strategy of growing and upgrading our core around assets and businesses with lasting advantages," said LYB CEO Peter Vanacker. 

"We welcome the opportunity to deepen our ties with LYB, first as licensee and now as joint venture partner," said Alujain chairman Mohammed Bin Saleh AlKhalil.