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Sabic's Al-Mady cites feedstocks costs, as keys to Middle East petrochemical success

Oil & Gas Journal

The key to success in the petrochemical industry always has been access—access to feedstock, technology, and the right markets.
Access to competitive feedstocks and state-of-the-art process technologies has enabled petrochemical producers in the Middle East to exceed local demand and focus their attention on "access to the right markets," according to Mohamed H. al-Mady, CEO and vice-chairman of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic).
"Petrochemical producers in the Middle East are looking at the world's fastest-growing markets in Asia overall and China in particular," he said.

Sabic has been able to translate low feedstock costs and access to Asian markets into record profit levels.
"Sabic had very good profitability last year—$1.8 billion net profits—which was the highest ever for our company. We expect this year to be another very good year for us," he said. "Sabic's total assets at yearend 2003 reached $29 billion, and production totaled 42.3 million tonnes.
"This phenomenal growth was only possible with the participation of joint venture partners," Al-Mady said. "These partners provide not only their capital but also their technical expertise and training for the Saudi workforce that now operates all of our major facilities."