SABIC to adopt Netherlands operating plan in Saudi Arabia’s large plants if successful

Saudi Basic Industries Corp.’s (SABIC) plan to build a plant to produce plastic circular polymers in the Netherlands will be a pilot project to create environmentally friendly products, Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SABIC, told Argaam.

“If the plant’s operational plan in the Netherlands is successful, the experiment will be extended to the large plants in the Kingdom,” he said during the company’s press conference today, Jan. 31, 2021, commenting on its Q4 2020 financial results.

SABIC and Plastic Energy Ltd. announced plans to commence construction on the first commercial unit to produce its flagship certified circular polymers. The unit, which will be located in the Netherlands, is expected to become operational in the second half of 2022, according to data compiled by Argaam.

The CEO expected the company’s Q1 2021 performance to align with the Q4 2020 achievement, after the rise in product prices, indicating prices did not reach 2019 levels and are still down by 15 percent.

He predicted that SABIC’s performance will be positive but remains cautious due to the continuing repercussions of the coronavirus and in the event of continued travel restrictions, as well as developments in key markets in Europe, the United States and China that could lead to weak demand in the chemicals sector.

Al-Benyan also noted that the long-term strategic cooperation between Saudi Aramco and SABIC will enhance the growth of future opportunities in the Kingdom and key markets in the United States and China, strengthen joint venture management and look at a unified model of joint services to improve integration and leverage the capabilities of the two companies in different areas.

According to data available in Argaam, SABIC reported a profit of SR 2.22 billion ($591.5 million) in Q4 2020, compared to a loss of SAR 890 million for the same period in 2019.