Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) said on Sunday it has started trial operations at its $3.4bn the Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company (Kemya) rubber plant.
Trials have begun at the carbon black and utilities unit of the plant, the statement said, adding that financial impact would be reflected in Sabic’s results from Q2, 2016 onward.
Kemya is a 50:50 joint venture between Sabic and a subsidiary of US oil major ExxonMobil, Exxon Chemical Arabia, which partners in a number of downstream ventures in Saudi Arabia.
Once fully operational, Kemya’s rubber plant is expected to supply over 400,000 metric tonnes per year of rubber, thermoplastic polymers and carbon black to serve emerging local and international markets in Asia and the Middle East.
Kemya was established as one of Saudi Arabia’s first polyethylene producers and has the capacity to produce about 700,000 tonnes per year of ethylene, and over 1.1 m.t. of polyethylene and serves the domestic, regional and global markets.
The company is located in Al-Jubail, 70 kilometers north of Dammam on the east coast of Saudi Arabia.
