Expansion set at Saudi petrochemicals complex

Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical (Yanpet)—a 50-50 joint venture of Fairfax, Va.-based Mobil Corp. and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC)—plans a $2 billion expansion of its Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, petrochemicals complex, located on the Red Sea north of Mecca. When construction is complete, the facility will be one of the world's largest petrochemical complexes. Yanpet was formed by Mobil and SABIC in 1980 and began producing ethylene, polyethylene, and ethylene glycol in 1984-85. Mobil Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lucio A. Noto says the expansion "will make this facility the world's lowest cost ethylene producer. Yanpet will realize significant capital and operating savings by integrating the new cracker into the existing complex. And the facility is ideally located to serve high-growth markets in the Middle East, Africa, and the Pacific Rim." Mobil will pay half the project's costs and SABIC, the other half. Construction is slated to begin in 1997. The 800,000-metric-ton-per-year ethylene unit will bring...