Saudi Arabian petrochemical giant Sabic (Riyadh; www.sabic.com) has signed an agreement with SK Global Chemical (Seoul / South Korea; www.skglobalchemical.com) to establish a Singapore-based 50:50 joint venture for the production of high-performance PE products. The USD 595m proposed investment still needs to meet the necessary regulatory approval.

Under the agreement, the jv is to operate a series of manufacturing plants using SK Chemicals’ proprietary “Nexlene” technology. The first facility to be incorporated in the joint venture is the Korean company’s recently completed 230,000 t/y metallocene LLDPE, polyolefin plastomer and polyolefin elastomer plant in Ulsan (see Plasteurope.com of 14.05.2012). The partners plan to set up another facility in Saudi Arabia, as well as other global production bases in time.

The jv is aimed at meeting growing demand from the advanced packaging, automotive, healthcare, footwear and E&E industries. In the packaging sector, for instance, the lighter Nexlene mLLDPE grades enable the manufacture of lighter flexible food packaging and wrapping films. The grades are also suitable for pipes and consumer goods, the companies added.

The jv is the second one Sabic is undertaking in China, after partnering with Sinopec (Beijing / China; www.sinopec.com) on the 50:50 Sinopec Sabic Tianjin Petrochemical Company (SSTPC) joint venture for 260,000 t/y of PC – for details, see Plasteurope.com of 11.04.2012.