Saudi Kayan Petrochemicals Co plans to bring the first unit online at its Jubail petrochemicals complex in the second half of 2010 and start other units slowly through 2012, a top executive said.

Kayan, a unit of the world's largest petrochemical firm by market value Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), is located at Jubail. The city is home to a petrochemicals hub on the east coast of top oil exporter Saudi Arabia.

The first unit to start would be the complex's main facility, an ethylene cracker, Mutlaq al-Morished, Kayan's chairman, told reporters late on Sunday on the sidelines of an industry event in Jubail, on the Gulf's coast.

'We started operating the utilities, then the cracker, ethylene plant will start in the second half, after that other plants will start one by one in 2011-2012,' Morished, also the chief financial officer of Sabic, said. 'There are 16 chemicals plants...it takes a long time.'    

The project will have an annual production capacity of 6 million tonnes of petrochemicals including ethylene, propylene and ethylene glycol.   

Sabic chairman Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan told Reuters on the sidelines of the same event that prices of petrochemicals have strengthened and demand continued to grow in Asia.

'Prices have improved, the world's economies are improving... prices today are very good,' he said. 'Demand grew globally, in Asia it rose substantially, whether it was in China or India or Vietnam...There is a continuous demand growth in Asia, in excellent rates,' Bin Thunayan said. - Reuters