S Arabia’s Saudi Kayan to boost Jubail C2, EO capacity by Q2 ’17

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Saudi Kayan is planning to boost the ethylene (C2) production capacity at its Jubail petrochemical complex by at least 93,000 tonnes/year by 2017 after securing higher natural gas allocation from the Saudi Arabian government, the producer said over the weekend.

The company was given extra allocation of 10m standard cubic feet per day of natural gas effective 1 July this year, Saudi Kayan said in a filing to the Saudi bourse, Tadawul, on 8 February.

The extra gas will also enable Saudi Kayan to increase its ethylene oxide (EO) capacity by 61,000 tonnes/year by the second quarter of 2017, it said.

Increased supply of natural gas will also reduce the company’s reliance on butane gas as feedstock for production, it said.

The planned capacity expansions at the Jubail petrochemical complex will enable the company to boost its earnings by Saudi riyal (SR) 280m ($74.7m) in 2015. When completed, the expansions are estimated to provide annual earnings increment of SR600m, Saudi Kayan said.

($1 = SR3.75)