MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara) is progressing on-budget and on-schedule in alignment with Dow’s strategy to enable cost-advantaged growth in fast-growing regions such as Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern and Central Europe, said the company in its press release.
Significant progress has been made in starting up key infrastructure and utility systems. Overall construction of the manufacturing facility is now approximately 94% complete with 47,000 personnel on site in Jubail Industrial City II, Saudi Arabia. The commissioning and startup of key utilities infrastructure is underway and the process for first production units will begin in the second half of the year with initial polyethylene production beginning near the end of 2015. Full site operations remains on track for the end of 2016.
Sadara’s 26 manufacturing assets are scheduled for a sequenced start-up process, beginning with the polyolefins envelope to maximize timing in the ethylene cycle, followed by ethylene oxide/propylene oxide and their derivatives, with the polyurethanes portfolio in the final phase.
Customer excitement is increasing as Dow businesses actively prepare to market and sell the majority of products produced by Sadara Chemical Company via agreements with the joint venture, to support growth in key markets such as packaging, construction, electronics, furniture and bedding, automotive and transportation.
Progress also continues as Dow works with its customers to attract downstream investments to the advanced manufacturing value park adjacent to Sadara, PlasChem Park, in support of a diversified Saudi economy and job growth in the region.
As MRC informed earlier, Sadara Basic Services Company had a fire in one of the cooling towers under construction at the Sadara Chemical Company (the Parent) project site in Jubail Industrial City II at 9 pm on Saturday, 28 March, 2015.
Sadara is a joint venture developed by The Dow Chemical Company and Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco).
The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and synthetic rubber. EBITDA was up 15% in 4Q at USD2.4 bn. Net profits were down 24% at USD734. Dow's sales in 4Q were unchanged on a year earlier at USD14.38 bn.