Sadara complex 98% complete
The boards of directors of Saudi Aramco, Dow Chemical Company (Dow), and the Sadara Chemical Company gathered at the Sadara complex recently to get a closer look at the significant progress made at the facility.
The visit was headed by Saudi Aramco Chairman of the Board of Directors HE Khalid A. Al-Falih and Dow Chairman and CEO, Andrew Liveris. Board members heard presentations about the overall project progress — which is now 98% complete — and took a tour of the Sadara facilities, as well as the adjacent PlasChem Park, which is being developed for local manufacturers to make use of Sadara’s specialty feedstocks.
The US$20-billion project is the world’s largest chemical complex ever built in a single phase. The six-square-kilometer complex is comprised of 26 plants, 14 of which are producing specialty chemical products that have never been produced in the Kingdom previously. One of these plants, the Solution Polyethylene plant, has already begun production and shipped its first products to Singapore late last year.
“Sadara represents a bold undertaking for both Saudi Aramco and for Dow,” Al-Falih said. “For us at Saudi Aramco, it is a major driver in achieving our goals of greater integration and value addition. Sadara represents the concrete realization of our distinct, yet complementary, corporate visions — it is one way in which Saudi Aramco is helping to deliver on its commitment to the Kingdom.”
“Thanks to Dow and Saudi Aramco’s partnership, our shared vision for Sadara is fast becoming a reality: an unprecedented achievement of historic size and scale,” said Liveris. “By combining globally competitive feedstocks with cutting-edge innovation, Sadara will generate billions of dollars in revenues and create thousands of jobs.”
“Sadara is a huge testament to the power of partnership that has made this magnificent achievement possible,” said Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco president and CEO. “We have faced many challenges over the years — complex technological challenges, economic uncertainty — but both companies stood firm to make Sadara a reality.”
Sadara will be the world’s largest integrated chemicals complex ever built in a single phase, with the production capacity to produce more than 3 million tons of diversified chemicals and plastics per year.