Sadara Chemical Company, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and The Dow Chemical Company, has signed an agreement with Harcros-ARA for supply of specialty chemicals to its PlasChem Park facility in Jubail Industrial City.

Harcros-ARA is a joint venture between top manufacturer and distributor of industrial and specialty chemicals, Harcros Chemicals, and leading Riyadh-based chemical manufacturer, ARA Specialty Industrial Company.

Under terms of the agreement, the venture plans to establish a chemical facility in PlasChem Park, a collaborative industrial park between Sadara and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY) in Jubail Industrial City II, and will offtake ethylene oxide/propylene oxide (EO/PO) from Sadara to fuel the production of various specialty chemicals.

PlasChem Park is a 12-sq-km industrial park in Jubail Industrial City II, dedicated to downstream chemical and conversion industries.

It is a key element differentiating Sadara from other petrochemical, chemical and plastics manufacturing projects in Saudi Arabia. It is uniquely positioned to enable and support downstream opportunities in many market segments, including the hydrocarbon resin cluster, EO/PO cluster, polyurethane cluster and a plastics cluster.

These clusters are designed to attract diversified investments into PlasChem Park for downstream applications such as the production of oil and gas chemicals, construction materials, auto components, animal feed, paints and coatings, as well as home and personal care products.

The proposed Harcros-ARA facility will produce specialty chemicals used in a variety of applications from construction materials, paint and coating additives, to metal treatment and mining, water treatment and enhanced oil recovery. Methyldiethanolamine will also be produced for oil and gas applications.

Sadara CEO Dr Faisal Al Faqeer said: "These products, which will be manufactured and introduced for the first time in the region, will serve local, regional and export markets, in line with Vision 2030, and Sadara’s role as a key contributor in driving development of the downstream manufacturing industry in the kingdom."

"This project will create jobs – both directly and indirectly – and will introduce new technologies to the local market," he stated.

"We are very excited about the interest our diversified chemicals product slate is getting from partners such as Harcros-ARA, and we look forward to seeing these plans come to fruition," he added.

Harcros CEO Kevin Mirner said: "This supply agreement with Sadara further strengthens Harcros’ position in the global manufacturing arena, and reinforces Harcros’ commitment to continued growth."

"Additionally, this agreement and our rapidly expanding international presence provide Harcros and ARA the ability to deliver specialty surfactants to a multitude of industrial and specialty markets in and around the kingdom," remarked Mirner.

ARA Managing Director Engineer Aziz Alenazi said: "This is an exciting time for the ARA team as we inaugurate our partnership with Harcros. Together, we will add great value to the specialty chemicals industry in the Kingdom."

"This venture will be the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and will contribute greatly to filling an interesting block in the value chain by producing more sophisticated specialty petrochemical products and localizing advanced technologies needed across various industries. This will result in reducing major imports and raising local content, ultimately contributing to Saudization and the building of local capabilities," he added.-TradeArabia News Service