“SABIC's investment in catalysts will contribute to securing our needs and that of the petrochemical manufacturers in the region,” said acting CEO Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh. He added that despite Saudi leadership in the energy and petrochemical industries, the Kingdom relies to a large extent on catalyst imports, increasing operational risks in the event of any supply chain disruption.

The catalyst plants will form part of a first package of projects for Saudi Arabia’s Shareek program, launched in March 2021 to increase domestic investments of private sector companies through support from government-approved incentives.

SABIC added that it is collaborating with Shareek to “identify the most important enablers and drivers to build the catalyst industry in the Kingdom.”

Last year, Sabic purchased Clariant’s 50% share in the company’s former joint venture Scientific Design, taking full control. Scientific Design is a licensor of high-performance process technologies and a producer of catalysts. The deal allowed SABIC to secure a key catalyst that it uses in glycol manufacturing.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist