SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi-Yanbu' Petrochemical Co. (Yanpet).

Set up in 1980 at Yanbu', on the Red Sea coast, as a 50-50 JV between SABIC and Mobil (now ExxonMobil), Yanpet came on stream in 1984. It can produce 800,000 t/y of ethylene, almost 400,000 t/y of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and 430,000 t/y of HDPE. On Oct. 25, 1999, two units of Yanpet's second olefins complex, built next to its existing facilities, were inaugurated with a capacity of 535,000 t/y of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and 260,000 t/y of polypropylene (PP). The plant, called Yanpet-2 which cost $2.5 bn, went on stream in mid-2000 with a capacity of 800,000 t/y of ethylene. This is fed with up to 1m t/y of propane and has boosted Yanpet's ethylene capacity to more than 1.6m t/y. The cracker was built by ABB Lummus Global. A new 410,000 t/y ethylene glycol plant at Yanpet-2 was built by Toyo Engineering of Japan, raising Yanpet's capacity for this product to 660,000 t/y. A 125,000 t/y pyrolysis gasoline unit was also built. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan built the new HDPE and PP units, which use Unipol technology. Yanpet capacity is 3.2m t/y of various products. Yanpet-2 is being debottlenecked to boost its capacity by 20%.

Arabian Petrochemical Co. (Petrokemya), fully owned by SABIC, went on stream in Jubail in 1985. Its product range and capacities have been expanded since then to include: 1.95m t/y of ethylene; 100,000 t/y of polystyrene; 70,000 t/y of benzene; 70,000 t/y of butadiene; 100,000 t/y of butene-1; and varying quantities of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and styrene.

Its expansion has included an 800,000 t/y ethylene unit which came on stream in late 2000 with eight furnaces. The unit, called Olefins III, cost over $200m. Eastern Petrochemical Co. (Sharq) invested in this to secure feedstock for its ethylene glycol (EG) plant. Petrokemya took 50% in the EG unit. With a Stone and Webster technology for propane cracking adopted, Petrokemya can choose between ethane and propane feedstocks, enabling it to produce up to 275,000 t/y of propylene, depending on the feed mix at any particular time. A pipeline carries propane from Ju'aymah.

Petrokemya has an 800,000 t/y LLDPE/HDPE plant at the complex on stream since early 2003 based on the Unipol process. It was built by Toyo Engineering under a contract signed in January 2001.

A 300,000 t/y butene-1 plant has been built by Samsung of South Korea under an EPC contract signed in mid-July 2003, which earlier this year complemented two 50,000 t/y butene-1 units.

Mustang Engineering of the US recently completed a study covering the proposed replacement of chloro-fluorocarbon (CFC) units at the refrigeration facilities serving the VCM plant. The study suggests options to replace the units with more environmentally-friendly alternatives. The next stage will be the issue of a tender to equipment manufacturers to replace the units.

Jubail United Petrochemical Co. (JUPC), set up in 2000 as a fully owned SABIC unit, has a $2 bn olefins complex with a capacity of 1m t/y of ethylene, 460,000 t/y of EG, 200,000 t/y of ethylene oxide (EO), and 150,000 t/y of linear alpha olefins (LAO). It went on stream in 2004 based on ethane. The LAO plant is based on the Alpha-Sablin technology developed jointly by SABIC and Linde of Germany.

JUPC also has a 30,000 t/y acetic acid plant built in Yanbu' based on technology developed independently by SABIC's R&D unit. The acid goes as a feedstock to Yanbu'-based Ibn Rushd's purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant. Once the technology has been proven, SABIC would have a world-scale 200,000 t/y AA plant built.

Al-Jubail Petrochemical Co. (Kemya): The 50-50 ExxonMobil-SABIC complex began in 1984 to produce 615,000 t/y of LLDPE and 300,000 t/y of HDPE. A flexible 700,000 t/y ethylene steamcracker, which can use up to 1m t/y of propane, raising LLDPE capacity by 250,000 t/y, and a new 218,000 t/y LDPE unit (Saudi Arabia's first high-pressure plant based on ExxonMobil process), came on stream in late November 2000 and cost about $450m (see background & court case in Vol. 61, DT No. 15).

Eastern Petrochemical Co. (Sharq): This is a 50-50 JV of SABIC and Saudi Petrochemical Development Co. (SPDC). SPDC is owned 45% by Japan Bank for International Cooperation  (JBIC), and 55% by 62 Japanese companies, mainly of the Mitsubishi group. It produces EG and LLDPE. The first 452,000 t/y EG unit came on stream in 1985 and the second started up in 1993 with a capacity of 208,000 t/y. A 497,000 t/y EG unit (3EG) using a Shell technology started up in 2000. Feedstock for the third unit comes from Petrokemya. As Sharq invested in the expansion of Petrokemya, the latter took 50% in 3EG. Sharq's two LLDPE plants were in 2000 debottlenecked for a 300,000 t/y capacity increase.

Sharq recently signed the three EPC contracts on a $2.5 bn Phase-3 expansion of its PE complex. The contracts, totalling more than $1 bn, cover construction of: a 1.3m t/y ethane/propane cracker, for which Stone & Webster (part Shaw Int'l of the US), was issued a letter of intent (LoI) in late July; a 400,000 t/y LLDPE and HDPE units, awarded the same month to Linde; and the offsites and utilities package awarded in August to Foster Wheeler of the US. Samsung signed the $350-400m contract to build a 700,000 t/y EG unit in September. The expansion is to be completed in the first quarter of 2008. FosterWheeler is also the project management consultant (PMC).

Yanbu' National Petrochemicals Co. (YanSab) is a 100%, $3 bn SABIC venture to be on stream in April 2008. It will have on a 1.3m t/y olefins complex at Yanbu' for which Technip has the technology-cum-engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) cracker contract. In mid-September SABIC gave the $700m EPC contract to the Norwegian/Chinese JV of Aker Kvaerner and Sinopec to build two LLDPE and PP units, with both units each to have a capacity of 400,000 t/y. The PP plant will use Unipol technology licensed by Dow Chemical of the US. SABIC will use its own technology for the LLDPE plant. Toyo Engineering has the $400m EPC contract to build a 700,000 t/y EG unit. Fluor of the US has the contract for the $650-700m offsites and utilities. Macchi of Italy has the $30m contract to supply high-pressure boilers. Foster Wheeler is the PMC. A JV of ABN Amro and Saudi Hollandi Bank is the financial adviser.

Saudi Aramco is having a gas plant at Yanbu' expanded. Contractors to attend a job explanation meeting in Dhahran on Oct. 15 - with tendering on the $150-200m contract to begin in November - include Daelim and Hyundai of South Korea, ABB Lummus Global of the US, CTCI of Taiwan, Tecnicas Reunidas of Spain, JGC Corp. of Japan, Technip, SNC Lavalin of Canada, and Techint and Snamprogetti of Italy.

The lump-sum turnkey contract (LSTK) calls for a new de-ethaniser column and related systems to process an additional 185,000 CF/d of ethane and natural gas liquids (NGL). It will also entail installation of associated vessels, heat exchangers and cooling equipment.

In addition, a new 600-pound steam boiler will be installed and utility systems will be modified to accommodate the new process equipment. Jacobs Engineering of the US has done the front-end engineering and design (FEED) work.

National Plastic Co. (Ibn Hayyan): This is a JV of SABIC (71.5%) and Lucky Group of South Korea (28.5%). On stream in Jubail since 1986, it can produce 300,000 t/y of VCM and 200,000 t/y of PVC using ethylene and ethylene dichloride as feedstocks, and PVC paste.

In 1996 it established Ibn Hayyan Plastic Products Co. with a capital of $27m. The shareholders are Ibn Hayyan (51%), Saudi Industrial & Commercial Agencies Co. (36%), Saudi Industries Development Co. (Tatweer, 10%) and Saudi Ceramic Co. (3%). The $100m plant, on stream in 1998, uses feedstock produced by Ibn Hayyan to make 3,200 t/y of synthetic leather, 3,060 t/y of wall paper, 10,500 t/y of floor tiles and 1,750 t/y of book covers.

Saudi Methanol Co. (Ar-Razi), a 50-50 JV of SABIC and a Japanese group led by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co. (MGCC) in Jubail, started up in 1983. It has four chemical grade methanol plants with a 3.1m t/y capacity. The fourth 850,000 t/y unit went on stream in November 1999. Ar-Razi, the biggest methanol complex in the world, has brought Saudi methanol capacity to 4.5m t/y. Ar-Razi's plants are based on MGCC's technology.

The complex is being expanded with a 1.7m t/y plant to bring Ar-Razi's capacity to 4.8m t/y - the largest in the world - in 2008 under a $600m EPC contract won last June by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) of Japan.

MHI has since been in negotiations with a number of local contractors for the four main subcontracts. These cover the mechanical and electrical installation, offsites and utilities, civils and architecture and painting packages. Awards are expected by end-October.

National Methanol Co. (Ibn Sina) is owned 50% by SABIC and 25% each by Pan Energy and Hoechst Celanese. Its complex at Jubail started up in 1984. It brought a 700,000 t/y MTBE plant on stream in April 1994. From then, the plant was able to produce more than 850,000 t/y.

Ibn Sina has a capacity of 1m t/y of methanol.

Saudi-European Petrochemical Co. (Ibn Zahr) is owned 70% by SABIC and 10% each by Fortum of Finland, Ecofuel of Italy and Apicorp (al-Khobar based unit of OAPEC). It started up in Jubail in 1988 with a 500,000 t/y MTBE plant. It produces 1.5m t/y of MTBE, having added a 700,000 t/y plant at its complex in 1993 and later raised that capacity by 300,000 t/y. It also produces 640,000 t/y of polypropylene (PP), with a 440,000 t/y expansion completed in 2000. This is being expanded by 500,000 t/y.

Aker Kvaerner is the PMC for the new 500,000 t/y PP train. It is doing the FEED work and is assisting with the preparation and technical evaluation of tender documents for the EPC contract. Technology for the PP unit is being licenced from Dow Chemical.

Arabian Industrial Fibres Co. (Ibn Rushd) was formed as a joint stock venture in December 1995, with SABIC holding 51.7%. Its capital of SR3 bn ($800m), divided into 30m SR100 shares, was fully subscribed and paid. An aromatics complex and a purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant at Yanbu' came on stream in 1998.

Ibn Rushd marked the beginning of a new industry in Saudi Arabia: polyester (190,000 t/y) for textiles and carpets, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. A 350,000 t/y PTA plant came on stream in 2000, with 225,000 t/y being exported. A 250,000 t/y PET plant started up in 2001.

The complex uses the Cyclar process and produces 350,000 t/y of benzene, about 300,000 t/y of paraxylene, 45,000 t/y of orthoxylene and about 35,000 t/y of meta-xylene. About 160,000 t/y of benzene are sold to the first Saudi cumene plant on stream in late 1999. The polyester unit has been debottlenecked to produce over 200,000 t/y.

Saudi Arabia Fertiliser Co. (Safco) in Jubail is 41% owned by SABIC, 49% by Saudi investors and 10% Safco employees. Under a $400m contract signed on Feb. 25, 1997, Tecnimont has built two plants to produce 600,000 t/y of urea and 500,000 t/y of ammonia which went on stream in early 2000. This raised Safco's capacity to 1.5m t/y of urea and 1.2m t/y of ammonia.

Safco started up in 1970 in Dammam with 330,000 t/y of urea, 200,000 t/y of ammonia and 100,000 t/y of sulphuric acid.

Uhde is adding a 1.1m t/y urea unit and a 1.1m t/y ammonia plant at the complex under an EPC contract worth about $520m signed on June 25, 2003.

Al-Jubail Fertiliser Co. (Samad), a 50-50 SABIC-Taiwan Fertiliser JV, started up in 1983 with 695,000 t/y of urea and 330,000 t/y of ammonia.

Samad also produces 50,000 t/y of di-octyl phthalate (DOP) and 150,000 t/y of 2-ethyl hexanol (2-EH, one of DOP's main feedstocks).

National Chemical Fertiliser Co. (Ibn al-Baytar), a 50-50 SABIC/Safco JV, started up in 1987. Using methane as feedstock, Ibn al-Baytar produces 583,000 t/y of liquid ammonia, 500,000 t/y of granular urea, 500,000 t/y of NPK, 200,000 t/y of NSP, 100,000 t/y of di-ammonium phosphate and 10,000 t/y of liquid fertiliser (see background in Vol. 57, No. 18).

A $2 bn phosphate and fertiliser complex is being developed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden). This will have a sulphuric acid plant at Ras al-Zour. Four international companies and groups have been invited to submit bids by Nov. 12 for the $450-500m EPC contract: Technip; a Dutch/Finnish joint venture of Bateman Engineering and Outokumpu; and Saudi Oger with Simon-Carves of the UK and Tekfen of Turkey.

The contract calls for construction of two trains with a combined 450,000 t/y capacity as well as absorption towers and a cooling system. The sulphuric acid will be mixed with phosphoric acid and ammonia to process phosphate into diammonia phosphate (DAP).

Tenders for the three ammonia, phosphoric acid and DAP plant packages are expected to be issued in early November.

The phosphate feedstock will be sourced from the al-Jalamid deposit in the north-west and transported through a planned minerals railway to Ras al-Zour. A team of SNC Lavalin, with Jacobs Engineering, and Australia's WorleyParsons are bidding for the PMC on the phosphate complex.