SAUDI Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) and Exxon Mobil are seeking US$1.2 billion funds from banks for the expansion of their petrochemicals joint project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), according to sources.Allegedly, Al-Jubail Petrochemcial Co (Kemya) will source from shareholders and bank a total of US$2.2 billion. The funding will have a tenor of 10 years.
According to report from Bloomberg, Kemya is building a specialty-elastomer plant on the KSA’s Persian Gulf coast with an expected output of 400,000 tonnes of rubber products a year, These will be marketed in Saudi Arabia and exported to the Middle East and Asia. Production is expected to begin in the second half of 2015.
A US$900 million loan from 10 local and international banks will be backed by SABIC, while Exxon Mobil will guarantee a US$100 million facility from non-Saudi banks. Kemya will also borrow about US$200 million in Saudi riyals in a non-guaranteed loan.
Moreover, Exxon Mobil will also provide a shareholder loan of US$900 million, while Sabic will contribute US$100 million, the report also stated.