Saudi Arabia’s Sabic (Riyadh; www.sabic.com) is extending its cooperation with Sinopec (Beijing / China; www.sinopec.com) in the north of China – see also Plasteurope.com of 14.07.2010. After putting in place production lines for numerous feedstocks and standard thermoplastics, the two companies have now set their sights on engineering polymers. Common joint venture company Sinopec Sabic Tianjin Petrochemical Company (SSTPC) is to deal with all the necessary investments into a new polycarbonate PC line, due to come on stream in Tianjin in 2015. Speaking at a press conference in Guanzhou / China, Sabic CEO Mohamed Al-Mady did not specify how large the investment would be, although he did say the new line would have a nameplate capacity of 260,000 t/y – just like the one recently commissioned in Al-Jubail – see Plasteurope.com of 28.10.2010.

The Saudi group also touted plans to build two new technology centres – in Shanghai and in Bangalore / India. Both buildings are scheduled for completion in 2013. The 60,000 m² Shanghai hub is to house the group’s Asian distribution business, whereas the 187,000 m² centre in Bangalore is to serve as a beachhead for future investments in the subcontinent. It is “just a matter of time”, Al-Mady said, until Sabic will enter into similar joint ventures in India, adding that – contrary to China, whose five year plans afford some sense of transparency – the country was simply not yet ready for foreign investments.

But Sabic’s plans also extend to its immediate backyard. Aside from the scheduled modernisation of older facilities – details of which are to be provided in the course of this year – its Al Jubail Petrochemical Co (Kemya) joint venture with ExxonMobil has meanwhile placed several orders with plant manufacturers, including Jacobs Engineering and Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding. The jv’s plant is to have a nameplate capacity of 400,000 t/y of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), EPDM and thermoplastics elastomers (TPEs).