SAUDI ARABIA: Petro Rabigh delays phase II completion; project cost increased to SAR 34 billion

Petro Rabigh, a joint venture of Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical, has again postponed completion of its Phase II expansion project in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia, increasing the project's cost to SAR 34 billion, Petro Rabigh said in a statement to Tadawul (Saudi Stock Exchange).

The project involves expansion of ethane production capacity to 1.6 million t/y from 1.3 million t/y, as well as units to produce ethylene propylene rubber, thermoplastic polyolefins, methyl methacrylate, polymethyl methacrylate, low-density polyethylene/ethylene vinyl acetate, paraxylene/benzene, cumene and phenol/acetate.

Phase II was expected to be completed in September 2016, but is being postponed by at least six months to the second quarter of 2017, due to "construction market challenges," Petro Rabigh noted.

The ethane cracker expansion portion of Rabigh Phase II began full operations on 19 Apr. 2016. Cumene and phenol units have also begun operations, according to the statement.

Source: Weekly “PetroChemical News”, Durham, NC, USA; 3 Oct 2016

(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)