Sabic eyes southern US for expansion

Petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) aims to construct a greenfield petrochemicals plant in the southern US, with the company reportedly eyeing sites in Texas and Louisiana, local media reported on Thursday.

The plant, which will be built in a joint venture with ExxonMobil, would feature the biggest ethane cracker in the world, the Houston Chronicle cited people familiar with the plans as saying. At peak construction, the project will generate 11,000 jobs. Once completed in 2020, the work will result in 600 permanent positions.

Sabic aims to begin construction in mid-2017 in order to have commissioning coincide with the expected recovery of the global petrochemicals market. Targeted construction sites are situated in the area between Victory and Corpus Christi. The Louisiana sites under consideration are located along the Baton Rouge-New Orleans line.

The Saudis are also involved in a greenfield petrochemicals venture on the other side in the world. On Friday, Malaysian media reported that Saudi Aramco and partner Petronas had entered into talks with local banks for a USD-7.5 billion syndicated loan for their Johor refinery and petrochemical complex.