Dhahran, Saudi Arabia – December 2, 2014 – Highlighting its support for the development and growth of the chemicals industry in Saudi Arabia, Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara) partnered with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) to deliver a workshop entitled “Innovation in the Future of the Saudi Chemical Industry”.

The workshop was inaugurated by H.E. Dr. Khalid Al-Sultan, KFUPM Rector, followed by a keynote speech delivered by Ziad Al-Labban, CEO of Sadara. Approximately 110 representatives from both academia and industry joined the opening session and subsequent technical presentations, contributing to a series of lively discussions about the state of Saudi Arabia’s chemicals industry, as well as the opportunities and challenges that exist therein. During his keynote speech, Ziad compared production levels of the global chemicals industry to those of the industry in Saudi Arabia, underscoring the significant opportunities that currently exist for the Kingdom’s chemical industry.

“Innovation is about creating value. This is a core belief of ours at Sadara. By bringing in new state-of-the-art technologies and being the first in the entire Middle East to crack Naphtha, we are enabling the production of a new range of products, thus fundamentally changing the chemicals landscape in Kingdom and providing opportunities for further downstream manufacturing developments,” commented Ziad.

“Adding new value chains is only half the equation, however, as the intention is to encourage the move further downstream. To do this, Sadara has collaborated with the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu to introduce the unique and innovative concept of PlasChem Park, which has been developed to help accelerate the drive to create more value downstream.”

PlasChem Park is a 12 square-kilometer site located directly adjacent to the Sadara Chemical Complex, devoted exclusively to chemical and conversion industries that make direct or indirect use of Sadara’s products and raw materials from other suppliers. Investors in PlasChem Park will be able to easily utilize these products and raw materials for the manufacturing of a wide range of end products for local and export markets.

The workshop was held on campus at KFUPM, and included additional speakers from Sadara, as well as from the Dhahran Techno Valley Company, Oblon Spivak, STRATLEY and SIPCHEM. The technical sessions touched on various aspects of innovation, providing attendees with a comprehensive look at how it is being approached and incorporated into the Kingdom’s growing chemicals industry.

- Ends -

About Sadara:

Sadara is a joint venture developed by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) and The Dow Chemical Company. With a total investment of about $20 billion, Sadara is building a world scale chemical complex in Jubail Industrial City II in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. Comprised of 26 world scale manufacturing units, the Sadara complex is the world’s largest to be built in a single phase and will be the first in the Middle East to use refinery liquids, such as naphtha, as feedstock. By using best-in-class technologies to crack refinery liquid feedstock, Sadara will enable many industries that either currently do not exist in Saudi Arabia or only exist through imports of raw materials. The adjacent PlasChem Park, a unique collaboration between Sadara and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, will create more value downstream, generating unprecedented investment, innovation, economic growth and thousands of jobs. Sadara is on track to deliver its first products in the second half of 2015, with the complex in full operation in 2016.

For further information, please contact:

Sami Amin
Public Affairs
Manager- External Communications
Sadara Chemical Company
Mobile: +966501922155
Email: Sami.Amin@Sadara.com
website: www.sadara.com