SABIC, ExxonMobil ink deal for next phase of potential petchem project

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) and ExxonMobil’s affiliates signed an agreement on Saturday to conduct a detailed study of their proposed jointly-owned petrochemical project in Texas, and begin planning for front-end engineering and design work, according to official statements by both firms.

The Gulf Coast Growth Ventures project will be a plastics-manufacturing facility located in San Patricio County, Texas.

Yousef Al-Benyan, SABIC vice chairman and CEO, and Philippe Ducom, chairman, CEO, and president of ExxonMobil Saudi Arabia, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective affiliates. 

The deal was one of several finalized between Saudi and US companies during US President Trump’s ongoing visit to the Kingdom.

It covers conducting studies on the engineering design for the petrochemical project, as well as assessment of the complex’s various technical and commercial aspects, SABIC said in a statement.

The proposed complex will have an ethane cracker with a production capacity of 1.8 million tons of ethylene per year, to feed a monoethylene glycol unit and two polyethylene units – subject to the outcome of the ongoing studies.

A final decision on the project is anticipated to be made some time in 2018, the statement said.

Last month, SABIC and ExxonMobil announced that they had selected a site in San Patricio County, Texas for the potential project.

The 1,300-acre plot is located in an area rich in natural gas liquids feedstock, with the infrastructure necessary for the project’s operation, SABIC said.

The Texas project is part of the Saudi petrochemical giant’s geographic diversification strategy to supply new markets.

SABIC and ExxonMobil currently operate two joint ventures in Saudi Arabia. The San Patricio complex under study would be their first joint venture in the US.