Saudi Basic Industries (Sabic) said it started on April 1 commercial production at a 2.8 million ton expansion of a petrochemical joint-venture with Japanese partners including Mitsubishi.

In a statement posted on the bourse website, Sabic - the world's biggest chemical firm by market value - said the third expansion phase of Sharq would bring the overall capacity of the complex to 5 million tons per year. Sharq is a joint venture equally owned by Sabic and SPDC, a Japanese consortium led by the government of Japan and a consortium of companies led by Mitsubishi.