THIS SITE USES COOKIES

This website uses first and third party cookies (and equivalent technologies) to improve your experience on our site. Necessary cookies ensure that this site functions properly. We also use cookies to analyze how our site performs, understand your preferences and deliver tailored commercial content on this and other sites. For more information about which cookies we use, the information collected and SABIC’s purposes, please see our Cookie Notice. By clicking ‘Accept Cookies’ you agree to the use of such cookies.

PETROCHEMICALS: CHEMICALS

SABIC's chemicals portfolio provides essential building blocks for a wide range of chemicals and advanced materials.

  • Products*

    Ethylene, propylene, butadiene, linear alpha olefins, styrene, benzene, glycols products, industrial gases, methanol, MTBE, OXO and performance monomers, ethylene dichloride, caustic soda, polyurethane, propylene oxide, propylene glycol, catalyst, and others.

* PRODUCTS/PRODUCT GROUPS

 
 
In 2024, prices remained stable at relatively low levels despite rising feedstock prices and logistics costs, creating additional pressure on profit margins. Throughout the year, we navigated regional supply chain and market challenges with resilience and focused on improving margins by optimizing our geographical and customer mix and leveraging our solutions.

SELECTED 2024 DEVELOPMENTS

REDUCING CARBON FOOTPRINTS

SABIC introduced a new certified low-carbon product portfolio in 2024, starting with methanol, produced with a reduced carbon footprint while meeting the same high-quality specifications. This methanol supports a range of applications, including resins for laminate flooring and acrylic sheets.
 
Each product in the portfolio comes with verified carbon footprints and a Carbon Footprint Certification (CFC) from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system.

SYNERGIES WITH SAUDI ARAMCO

We achieved progress in our integration with Saudi Aramco, delivering synergies in joint growth projects both within Saudi Arabia and globally. This partnership has reinforced our role as Saudi Aramco's chemical arm and bolstered our leadership in the petrochemical sector. The expansion of our portfolio includes polyurethane, propylene oxide (PO), propylene glycol, and methyl methacrylate (MMA) from Saudi Aramco's Petro Rabigh (PRC) and Sadara assets (Saudi Arabia) and S-Oil asset (South Korea). During the year, we began marketing our first-ever shipment of PO from the PRC asset, a product with a global production capacity of 16 million metric tons, widely used in polyurethanes and propylene glycols.

EXPANDING OUR GLOBAL MARKET PRESENCE

The SABIC Fujian project positions us to grow our market share and customer base while efficiently meeting the rising demand for chemicals, such as MEG, in South China. This initiative will also enhance the stability of our material supply. In the future, we will strengthen our presence across China, solidifying our position as a local player. Currently, we are focusing on product pre-marketing activities ahead of the project's commencement.
 
The new MTBE plant at Petrokemya in Jubail, Saudi Arabia – the largest of its kind globally – will replace the existing isobutane dehydrogenation unit. Leveraging SABIC's proprietary technology, the plant is designed to meet the standards of the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC) and to address safety, operability, and reliability challenges. With an increase of nameplate capacity to 1,000 kilotons per annum, this development will further strengthen SABIC's market-leading position.
 
In the rest of Asia, we continued to strengthen our regional presence and tap into new markets such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, as well as explore new applications for our products. We obtained our Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for MEG, ethylene dichloride (EDC), and methanol, ensuring uninterrupted supplies and sustained growth in the rapidly expanding Indian market.

CHEMICALS BUSINESS GROWTH

Our Ethoxylates business also achieved significant milestones in 2024. Annual sales surpassed previous records by 9.5%, marking the highest yearly performance since our plant's inception. This success was driven by the more optimized use of existing assets and a strategic diversification of our product portfolio, laying a strong foundation for future growth.
 
In the Middle East, we are enhancing business efficiency and safety by optimizing supply chain delivery costs. This includes transitioning styrene monomer sales from truck deliveries to hub-based sales.
 
Located at King Fahad Industrial Port in Jubail, our Amiral Storage Project supports Saudi Aramco and Total Energies in the storage, import, and export of butadiene and methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE). The facility includes two 15,000 m3 MTBE tanks and three 4,750 m3 butadiene sphere tanks, strengthening chemical logistics and infrastructure.

MANUFACTURING EFFICIENCY AND RELIABILITY

We continued to implement manufacturing process improvements across our operations. Our IBN-ZAHR affiliate finalized plans to build a Low Temperature Recovery System (LTRS-1) to optimize C3 and C4 recovery, which is expected to increase MTBE production by 50 kilotons annually. Commissioning is scheduled for January 2025. Additionally, as a major commercial supplier in the Yanbu region, GAS Company commissioned a new 6-kiloton oxygen backup storage tank, doubling emergency supply availability from 1.5 to 3 days to enhance reliability for grid oxygen customers.

OPTIMIZING OPERATIONS IN EUROPE

In Europe, SABIC successfully completed the decoupling of the Olefins 3 cracker in Geleen, Netherlands. As part of this project, the Olefins 3 cracker was permanently closed, and the polymer and downstream assets were reconnected to Olefins 4. The project was delivered on schedule with excellent EHSS performance.
Read more about the performance of our Chemicals business in 2024 .

Disclaimer: This abridged interactive version of the SABIC Integrated Annual Report 2024 is based on the original PDF report published on this website. In case of any discrepancy, the original PDF report will prevail.

Compare up to 4 grades

You already have 4 products for comparison

Compare items