JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara) said that it has started up its mixed feed cracker (MFC). The MFC is the only one of its kind in Saudi Arabia and will allow Sadara to produce a diversified range of plastics and chemical products.
The MFC is made up of 12 furnaces, of these, seven will be used to crack ethane (gas), while the remaining five will be used to crack naphtha (liquid). Three of the five liquid furnaces are designed so that they can switch between gas and liquid feedstock.
The MFC is one of 26 manufacturing units located in the $20 billion Sadara chemical complex in Jubail Industrial City II. Of these units, 14 will deliver products that are completely new to being produced in the Kingdom.
In addition to supplying international markets, Sadara’s products will be utilised for downstream applications by investors located in the adjacent PlasChem Park, a collaborative effort between Sadara and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu.
Located adjacent to the Sadara chemical complex, PlasChem Park offers the advantages of the strong industrial and regulatory infrastructure in Jubail, secure feedstock, proximity to growing and emerging markets, and a qualified local workforce. Collectively, these factors offer investors unprecedented growth and development opportunities, the potential to create thousands of sustainable jobs, and make a positive and lasting impact on the Saudi economy.
“The state-of-the-art mixed-feed cracker allows us to produce our own basic chemicals on-site, and subsequently to convert these basic chemicals into a wide range of value-added plastics and speciality chemicals through our other manufacturing units. It also allows us to adjust our production levels of chemicals between naphtha-based and ethane-based feedstock in accordance with market demand,” said Ziad Al-Labban, CEO of Sadara.
“Sadara’s products will help fill a significant gap in a regional chemical industry dominated by commodity products, with less than 1 percent of petrochemical production currently defined as speciality chemicals. The introduction of the speciality petrochemicals and chemicals will help support the drive to broaden the secondary and tertiary petrochemical manufacturing landscape in Saudi Arabia, thus making the Kingdom a leading cornerstone to meet the growing demand for speciality products locally and regionally,” Al-Labban added.
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