- Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp. says it is considering a partnership with Exxon Mobil (XOM -1.7%) to build a major petrochemicals complex on the Texas or Louisiana Gulf Coast to take advantage of cheap and abundant natural gas supplies in the area.
- The project would include a production facility to supply ethylene to other units to produce ethylene derivatives for shipment to developing countries in Asia and elsewhere, SABIC says.
- Before making a final decision on the project, XOM and SABIC say they will conduct studies and work with state and local officials to help identify a potential site with adequate infrastructure access; XOM, which has worked with SABIC for more than 30 years on JV projects within Saudi Arabia, also has existing petrochemical complexes in Baytown and Mont Belvieu outside of Houston.