SABIC and Exxon Chemical Arabia Inc., an affiliate of ExxonMobil Chemical Company, announced they will construct a world-scale specialty elastomers facility at the Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company (Kemya) manufacturing joint venture.
The facility will be integrated with the existing Jubail complex and is expected to be completed in 2015. It will have the capacity to produce up to 400,000 tonnes per year of rubber – including halobutyl, styrene butadiene, polybutadiene, and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubbers – thermoplastic specialty polymers, and carbon black to serve local markets, the Middle East and Asia.
Kemya is a 50-50 joint venture between SABIC and Exxon Chemical Arabia Inc. The two companies have collaborated closely since 1980 when they established the joint venture, which produces polyethylene, ethylene, and propylene.
Associated with the new Kemya elastomers facility is the establishment of the High Institute for Elastomer Industries (HIEI), a vocational training center in Yanbu, a product application center in Riyadh, and thermoplastic polyolefin compounding and inventory management facilities in Jubail. The HIEI will employ Saudis as instructors to deliver innovative polymer science education programs developed at the University of Akron Research Foundation, in Ohio, USA, to train Saudis for the Kingdom’s developing elastomers conversion industry.
- Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- ExxonMobil, Texas, USA
