SABIC affiliate YANSAB signs LOI for engineering and construction of butene and aromatics units

SABIC affiliate Yanbu National Petrochemical Company (YANSAB), signed April 19, 2006, a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Shaw Stone & Webster Inc for the design, supply and construction of a butene plant with a designed annual capacities of 135,000 metric tons of butene and 250,000 metric tons of benzene, toluene and xylene mixtures at YANSAB complex, in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.

Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, President YANSAB, signed the LOI for YANSAB. Ebrahim Fatemizadeh, President - Energy & Chemical signed the LOI on behalf of Shaw Stone & Webster Inc.

Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC Vice Chairman & CEO said, "This LOI completes the contractual process for all of YANSAB's plants which are expected to go on-stream by 2008, with an annual capacity exceeding 4 million metric tons. This includes 1.3 million metric tons of ethylene; 400,000 metric tons of propylene; 900,000 metric tons of polyethylene, 770,000 metric tons of ethylene glycol; 500,000 metric tons and 400,000 metric tons of polypropylene alongside butane, Benzene, xylene and toluene mixtures."

He further pointed out that the complex will utilize SABIC and Sud Chemie 50:50 owned Scientific Design Ethylene Glycol (EG) technology as well as Butene-1 technology developed by SABIC in cooperation with the French Petrol Institute. This is in addition to the new hi-tech facilities for the production of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), comprising the latest manufacturing process to meet customer tailored requirements. This technology is being introduced for the first time in SABIC plants in parallel with a new technology for the extraction and conversion of pure aromatic compound to benzene.