SABIC starts commercial ops at carbon black unit

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) has started commercial operations at its carbon black and utilities unit on April 1, the petrochemicals giant said in a statement to Tadawul.

The unit is part of Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company (KEMYA) rubber plant, a 50:50 joint venture between SABIC and Exxon Chemical Arabia, an affiliate of Exxon Mobil Chemical Co.

A trial run of the KEMYA’s synthetic rubber unit had also begun on March 31, SABIC said, adding that the financial impact of the plant project would reflect on Q2-2016 results.

The $3.4 billion facility is expected to produce 400,000 metric tons of rubber, thermoplastic polymers and carbon black, per year. The plant serves local and emerging markets in Asia and the Middle East.