DAMMAM, Saudi Arabia (Zawya Dow Jones)--A joint venture of Saudi
Arabian Oil Co. and Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) will award all
engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, contracts on its
$20 billion petrochemical complex to be built in Saudi Arabia by
the second quarter next year, a top executive said Sunday.
About 50% of the capital investment amount is already under
contract and "the rest are being tendered. And the awards will be
first quarter and second quarter of next year," Abdulaziz Al
Judaimi, Aramco's vice president responsible for chemicals, told
reporters in Dammam.
Saudi Arabian Oil, the world's biggest oil company better known
as Aramco, and Dow Chemical signed a joint venture shareholders'
agreement Saturday to build one of the world's largest chemicals
plants in the oil-rich kingdom's Eastern Province on the Persian
Gulf coast.
Dow Chemical said in a statement earlier this week that "it is
expected that all invitation for bids will be out by end of the
year."
Construction of the 26 plants that will make up the chemical
complex--known as Sadara Chemical Co.--is scheduled to begin
immediately, with first output due to come on line in the second
half of 2015 and full operation scheduled for the following
year.
Sadara will produce polyeurethanes, propylene oxide, propylene
glycol, elastomers, linear low-density polyethylene, low density
polyethylene, glycol ethers and amines. Saudi Arabia is ploughing
billions of dollars into developing its petrochemical industry in a
bid to add value to its vast hydrocarbon resources and to create
jobs for its young and growing population.
The Sadara project represents Aramco's second major investment
in a large-scale petrochemical complex in the kingdom, where it is
already involved in a joint venture with Sumitomo Chemical Co.
(4005.TO) at Rabigh on the Red Sea.
-By Summer Said, Dow Jones Newswires; +966-546-842373;
summer.said@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.