Saudi SAMCo JV to play pivotal role in Dow Chem ME plans

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DOW CHEMICAL: SAMCo joint venture features prominently in US chemical giant's Mideast plans. (Getty Images)

US chemicals giant, Dow Chemical, confirmed on Sunday that the Saudi Acrylic Monomer Company (SAMCo) is to play an integral role in its development plans in the Middle East - the plans including the building by SAMCo of a plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

SAMCo is a joint venture owned by Tasnee Sahara Olefins Company (TSOC) of Saudi Arabia and Dow.

TSOC, established by Tasnee, Sahara and General Organization for Social Security, owns 75 percent of the Saudi Ethylene and Polyethylene Company (SEPC), which in turn owns a $2.5 billion cracker complex. The balance of SEPC is held by LyondellBasell Industries.

When completed, the Jubail plant, which is the first acrylic monomer production facility in the region, is expected to create more than 200 jobs.

The majority of the plant’s production will supply the needs of downstream businesses to make products used in paints and coatings, adhesives, caulks, sealants, plastics additives, detergents additives and in industrial applications, among others.

''Our objective is to become a strategic partner in the SAMCo JV. Through Dow's growing presence in KSA, we are committed to the economic development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its transformation into a key player in the global petrochemicals industry,'' said Earl Shipp, president of Dow India, Middle East and Africa.

Dow has several current and proposed Middle East joint ventures in the UAE, Egypt, Kuwait and Libya, as well as in Saudi Arabia, where Saudi Aramco and Dow are in the formation process of a joint venture to build, own and operate a world-scale chemicals and plastics production complex in the Eastern Province.

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