Saudi Arabia's SABIC and US ExxonMobil announced today the successful start-up of the manufacturing facility of the Gulf Coast Development Project in Texas.

The new facility will produce materials used in packaging, agriculture, building materials, clothing and auto coolers. The facility includes an ethane steam cracker with a capacity of 1.8 million metric tons per year, two polypropylene units with a capacity of 1.3 million metric tons per year, in addition to a monoethylene glycol unit with a capacity of 1.1 million metric tons annually.

The Executive Vice President of Petrochemicals at SABIC, Engineer Abdul Rahman Al-Faqih, stressed the partners’ pride in this achievement, praising the ability of the work teams to start operating all units of the plant safely before the end of 2021.

Al-Faqih expressed his hope that this new chapter in the Gulf Coast Development Project will strengthen our role as an active part of serving the local community on the Gulf Coast in Texas.

For her part, Karen Mackie, President of ExxonMobil Chemical Company, praised the early completion of the construction of the chemical plant designed with the latest technologies and less than the specified budget by benefiting from our experience in the planning and implementation of global projects while preserving the safety and health of the project participants, noting that this The achievement strengthens the company's position and contributes to meeting the growing global demand for specialty products, and also reflects the successful investment in the US Gulf Coast.

The construction of the factory began in the third quarter of 2019, which contributed to the creation of nearly 6,000 jobs in the construction field, while more than 600 employees are currently working in the factory under the direct employment system.

It is noteworthy that the cooperation between "SABIC" and "ExxonMobil" extends for forty years in joint petrochemical projects, and the Gulf Coast Development Project represents the first joint project between them in the Americas region.

SABIC is the operating partner of two joint ventures with ExxonMobil in the Kingdom, which are the "Kimya" company in Jubail and "Yanbit" in Yanbu. The ownership shares of the Gulf Coast Development Project are divided equally between the two partners, while ExxonMobil will operate the site.