NatPet to export Yanbu PP to Asia Pacific, Europe

18 April 2007 07:52  [Source: ICIS news]

SHANGHAI (ICIS news)--Saudi Arabia's National Petrochemical Industrial Co (NatPet) targets to export polypropylene (PP) from its new plant to the Asia Pacific region where demand was expected to grow by 10% each year, a company official said on Wednesday.

PP exports will also head to Europe where demand was to grow 2-3% per year, he added.

A considerable amount of the company’s output would be co-polymer grade PP, he said.

NatPet will start up its feedstock unit, a 400,000 tonne/year propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant, in May while it will begin commercial production at its 400,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) project at Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, in December.

"In the Middle East, PP demand growth is forecasted at 6-7% per year in 2007, but we must remember that the base is lower than other major markets," the official said.

The primary investors in the $750m (€555m) NatPet complex are Saudi Arabia's Xenel Group and Alujain Corp.

Noble Resources, a global supply chain manager of polymer resins, is also an investor in the project and will market half of the plant production focusing on the growing Asia Pacific markets.

($1=€0.74)

By: Prema Viswanathan
+65 6780 4359

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