Sumitomo unit, Aramco fete plant

RABIGH, Saudi Arabia (Kyodo) Sumitomo Chemical Co. and Saudi Arabian Oil Co., a state concern known as Saudi Aramco, celebrated on Sunday the completion of a major petrochemical plant built by the companies in Rabigh, western Saudi Arabia.

Sumitomo said it aims to export petrochemicals made at the new facility, which boasts one of the world's highest output capacities, to China and other parts of Asia.

The new plant, built at a cost of ¥1 trillion by Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co., a joint venture between the Japanese and Saudi firms, is capable of producing 1.3 million tons of ethylene per year. The plant came onstream in April.

The joint project is expected to strengthen ties between Saudi Arabia and Japan, which has to rely on Saudi crude oil, while the oil-rich nation is hoping to tap Japanese technical expertise through the project as it tries to promote economic development.

The plant is expected to provide additional competition to Japanese companies in rapidly expanding Asian markets and could saddle them with significant excess capacity.