SABIC, Sinopec in talks over $5.3bn methanol complex in Trinidad

13 February 2012 05:16  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--SABIC and China’s state-owned refiner Sinopec will formally begin negotiations with Trinidad and Tobago on a proposed $5.3bn (€4.0bn) methanol complex in the Caribbean country, the Saudi Arabian chemicals major said over the weekend.

The two firms obtained approval on 9 February from the Trinidad and Tobago government to pursue the project to be built in Point Lisas, SABIC said in a statement on the Saudi bourse Tadawul, confirming an earlier story.

A final and binding agreement on the project has yet to be reached, it said.

Financial details, as well as the capacity of the proposed methanol-to-olefins (MTO) and methanol-to-petrochemicals (MTP) project were not disclosed.

The Trinidad government’s bidding process on the methanol project is drawing criticisms, the latest coming from Keith Rowley, leader of the opposition party in the country's parliament. Rowley told ICIS he was unaware that Sinopec was a partner in SABIC’s proposal.

($1 = €0.76)

By: Nurluqman Suratman

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