Sabic to invest in Indian petrochem

 

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) is looking to build a petrochemical plant in India, a company official said on Friday.

 

Sabic signed a pact this year to build an ethylene derivatives complex in China.

 

"We are looking at investing in India's petrochem sector. We are looking for production in India," Sabic’s Business Development Manager Nasser Al-Torki told reporters at a meeting of Arab and Indian oil and gas officials.

 

Asked the size of the investment, he said: "We have interest and if you have interest, you don't have numbers," suggesting that the investment is not limited by numbers.

 

He also declined to give a timeframe or whether the project will be done on its own or jointly with an Indian company.

 

Sabic currently supplies some petrochemical products in India.

 

"India is a big market. India is an important and growing market for Sabic," Torki said.

 

Sabic and Sinopec signed in January a 50:50 joint-venture agreement to build a $1.7 billion (Dh6.26 billion) petrochemical complex in China's northern city of Tianjin, due to be completed by September 2009.

 

Al-Torki told the meeting that Sabic’s overall production was estimated to rise to 73 million tonnes in 2009 from around 49 million tonnes in 2006. (Reuters)