Saudi Arabian chemicals giant SABIC has started commercial production of polybutadiene industrial rubber as part of part of its Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company (KEMYA) joint venture with Exxon Mobil subsidiary Exxon Chemical Arabia. The Saudi company has also begun trial operations at the ethylene propylene diene monomer unit of the KEMYA complex.

The rubber plant, built at a cost $3.4 billion, will produce more than 400,000 t/y of product, including rubber, thermoplastic polymers and carbon black for domestic markets and for export to Asia. When announcing the project in 2011, SABIC said it had signed two deals with Continental Carbon for a technology license and marketing of the carbon black produced at the facility.