APIC ’07: Saudi to bring on stream 8m tonnes of C2

17 May 2007 11:34  [Source: ICIS news]

TAIPEI (ICIS news)--Saudi Arabia will bring on stream 8m tonnes of ethylene (C2) between 2007 and 2012, according to Pat Rooney CMAI’s managing director for the Middle East.

 

Rooney was speaking at the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) on Thursday.

 

Iranian capacity meanwhile could climb to 12m tonnes/year by 2015 if all potential projects go ahead.

 

Rooney said that projects 7, 9 and 10 should be completed by mid-end 2008, while units 5, 8 and 13 will be on stream between 2008 and 2011.

 

Rooney said he expected projects 11, 12 and 13 to also go ahead, but could not put any timescale on this.

 

CMAI predicts that 35m tonnes of C2 capacity will come on stream globally over the next 5-6 years, with around half of this coming out of the Middle East.

 

Propylene (C3) will start to feature more and more in the Middle East portfolio, said Rooney. Saudi Arabia alone will bring 6m tonnes of C3 onstream by 2011, leading to more diversification in downstream products in the Kingdom.

 

Rooney said that between 2004 and 2010, the Middle East was set to invest $150-200bn (€110-148bn) in petrochemical projects.

 

Capital cost inflation is huge however, said Rooney. Capital costs per annual tonne of C2 production in the Middle East have risen from $473/tonne in the 1999-2002 period to $692/tonne in the 2004-2006 period.

 

Rooney said that costs should eventually start to ease, but for now a significant period of high costs was likely.

 

($1=€0.74)

By: Jane Gibson
+44 20 8652 3214

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