Pan-Asia PET Resin (Guangzhou), a subsidiary of Full Apex (Holdings) (Singapore), plans to invest $3.8 billion in a polyester manufacturing complex at Jazan, Saudi Arabia, where Saudi Aramco is building a new refinery and a para-xylene (p-xylene) production facility.
The news follows the signing last year of an agreement between Guangzhou Industrial Development Corp. and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu to allow foreign direct investment by Chinese businesses in Jazan.
Pan-Asia PET Resin, plans to build plants producing 2.5 million metric tons/year (MMt/y) of purified terephthalic acid, 1 MMt/y of PET resin, and 200,000 metric tons/year each of polyester engineering plastics, thin film and polyester fiber. The company envisages the project’s completion in mid-2020. The commission in March allocated land for the project.
Lin Wencai, vice president of Full Apex (Holdings), says that the project will benefit from proximity to raw materials, with a large p-xylene facility under construction at Jazan and from proximity to markets in the Middle East and North Africa. Aramco has ambitions to become a major petrochemicals producer. It’s Jazan p-xylene facility will be designed for 800,000 metric tons/year.
By Natasha Alperowicz
Source: Chemical Week
Italy’s Treasury has sold a 2.8% stake in oil and gas company Eni, raising approximately €1.4bn. Despite this reduction, the Italian Government will own a third of Eni, with a combined stake of more than 30% held between the Treasury and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, which owns another 28.5% stake.
Umicore announces the appointment of Bart Sap as Chief Executive Officer, effective May 16th. He will succeed Mathias Miedreich who has decided to step down, in mutual agreement with the Supervisory Board. Bart Sap joined Umicore in 2004 and has been the Executive Vice President Catalysis since March 2021.
Hungarian energy and petrochemicals group MOL has inaugurated its €1.3 billion polyol complex in Tiszaújváros, Hungary, with a capacity of around 200,000 t/y of polyol, a widely used plastic raw material. According to MOL, the commissioning is a significant milestone, as it is the only company in Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe that covers the entire value chain from crude oil processing to polyol production.
