A THREE-way shareholders agreement to establish the first ever butanol plant in the Middle East and the world’s largest , which will produce butanol for the paints and coatings industry in Saudi Arabia, has been signed by the Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company, a manufacturing affiliate of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic); Sadara Chemical Company, a joint venture developed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company and The Dow Chemical Company; and Saudi Acrylic Acid Company (Saac), an affiliate of National Industrialisation Company and Sahara Petrochemicals Company.
Under the agreement, the three partners will have equal stake in the production quantities for downstream use or for sales in the local and overseas markets.
The SR 1,939 million plant, which will rise at Tasnee Petrochemicals Complex in Jubail Industrial City and operated by Tasnee, is scheduled to go on-stream in the first quarter of 2015 and is expected to generate some 200 direct and indirect jobs will become available for Saudi citizens.
It will have a capacity of 330,000 metric tonnes/year of n-butanol and 11,000 metric tonnes/year of iso-butanol.
Sabic will be marketing the Saudi Kayan share of the butanol plant along with the excess material of Saac.(RJA)
Asia's First E-Magazine for the Rubber Industry