Sumitomo Chemical misses partner Saudi Aramco's Dec. 31 deadline for deciding on US$6B-US$8B expansion at JV Petro Rabigh's plant in Saudi Arabia; investment would boost annual ethylene production capacity from l.3 million tons to 3.7 million tons

Jenne Nesbitt

LOS ANGELES , January 13, 2012 (Industry Intelligence) – Sumitomo Chemical Co. missed partner Saudi Arabia Oil Co.’s year-end deadline for deciding to invest US$6 billion to US$8 billion to expand a Saudi Arabian petrochemical plant, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 12.

Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil producer, and Sumitomo each own a 37.5% stake in joint venture Petro Rabigh, which produces 1.3 million tons of ethylene annually. The proposed plan would add units at Rabigh Refining & Co., which would increase the plant’s production to 3.7 million tons annually.

Sumitomo spokesman Hironori Mizushima stated that the company has not made a decision about the investment because the feasibility study on the project has not been completed.

The primary source of this article is Bloomberg, New York, New York, on Jan. 12, 2012.

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