Bookmark 07-28-2011

Dow: Joint Venture with Saudi Aramco

The Dow Chemical Company and the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) announced that the Boards of Directors of both companies have approved the formation of a joint venture to build and operate a world-scale, fully integrated chemicals complex in Jubail Industrial City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The authorization for the new joint venture, named “Sadara Chemical Company”, comes after an extensive project feasibility study and front-end engineering and design effort which began in 2007.

Comprised of 26 manufacturing units building on Saudi Aramco’s project management and execution expertise, and utilizing many of Dow’s industry leading technologies, the complex will be one of the world’s largest integrated chemical facilities, and the largest ever built in one single phase. The complex will possess flexible cracking capabilities and will produce over 3 million metric tons of high value-added chemical products and performance plastics, capitalizing on rapidly growing markets in energy, transportation, infrastructure and consumer products.

Construction will begin immediately and the first production units will come on line in the second half of 2015, with all units expected to be up and running in 2016. Once operational, Sadara is expected to deliver annual revenues of approximately USD 10 billion within a few years of operation and generate thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities through the complex and related investments in downstream value parks.