At a conference hosted by the Saudi government last week in Riyadh, officials sketched out rough details of the envisioned sustainability strategy, including a planned reopening of the cracker – potentially following an unspecified revamp. When the facility known as Olefins 6 could be expected to go back on stream was not disclosed. Some reports, however suggest it could be sometime next year.

With nameplate capacity to produce 865,000 /t of ethylene, alongside 415,000 t/y of propylene, the cracker first commissioned by erstwhile chemical conglomerate ICI in 1979 is Europe’s second largest. Originally run on liquid naphtha, it was later modified to handle both liquid and gas feedstock, including ethane, naphtha, propane and butane.

After being shut down for maintenance a year ago and not restarted, the facility’s future looked in doubt, and several other plants at the Teesside complex, where production activity has been subdued in recent years, had been expected to close. 

Local officials, who reportedly negotiated with SABIC and Aramco to help secure the site’s future, said the new investment in the cracker will create hundreds of jobs and support “thousands more.” No update on the fate of the other plants has yet been forthcoming. SABIC also operates an LDPE plant at Wilton.

Saudi Arabia trails in race to net zero emissions

Altogether, the SGI is aimed at eliminating 278 million t of carbon dioxide emissions annually by 2030, up from an earlier target of 130 million t. This, Saudi crown prince Mohammed al Salman said in a recorded message to the conference, will involve investments of more than 700 billion riyals ($190 billion) over the period. But while Saudi Arabia intends to reach net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2060, it lags 10 years behind than the US and Europe and its neighbor United Arab Emirates as well as most multinational chemical companies.

Addressing an industry panel during the Riyadh presentation, SABIC CEO Yousef Al-Benyan said the company is “uniquely contributing” to the SGI goals and taking “bold actions” that support the government’s ambitions for a circular carbon economy as well as reaffirming the company’s commitment to the goals of the Paris Agreement. One of the first targets to be achieved at Wilton is planned to be a reduction of carbon emissions by 60%.

The SABIC chief noted also that the petrochemical producer is an “active contributor” to several strategic international initiatives, especially those geared toward production of hydrogen, reusing captured carbon and recycling plastics. Among other things, it is a founding member of the Low Carbon Emitting Technologies (LCET) initiative with World Economic Forum (WEF).

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist