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ISIL: IR- 4088040
A new era of economic acceleration amid
political uncertainty?
31 January 2017 16:49

By Joseph Chang

NEW YORK (ICIS)--Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris has hardly been more bullish than on
the companys Q4 earnings conference call. Citing positive momentum in the US and global
economies going into 2017, his comments contrast starkly with those about dealing with a slow
growth world just a couple of years ago.

For the US, he cited a tailwind from the Trump administrations intention to cut taxes,
streamline regulations and embark on fair trade policies to create a vibrant manufacturing
sector.

And the outlook for the rest of the world is none too shabby from his view.

Europe continues its gradual recovery, despite increasing political uncertainty and geopolitical
tensions. Chinas transition is progressing on a robust path, and sustained growth of Asias
middle class continues to drive demand throughout the region. And finally, we see improvement
in Latin America from its low base, with slow but stable gains continuing in Brazil, he said.

While GDP numbers have been less than inspiring the US recently printing a weak 1.9%
growth rate for Q4 2016 the manufacturing sector appears to be faring far better than many
expected.

The US, eurozone and China manufacturing PMIs (purchasing managers indexes) key leading
economic indicators of manufacturing activity are all firmly showing expansion. In the PMI
readings, anything over 50 indicates expansion while below 50 indicates contraction.

The US ISM (Institute for Supply Management) Manufacturing PMI surged to 54.7 in December
2016, up from 53.2 in November and the highest in almost 2 years. The January PMI is due out
on 1 February.

The flash Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI in January hit a 69-month high at 55.1, up from
54.9 in December.

In China, where activity has been persistently weak for years, the Caixin General Manufacturing
PMI rose to 51.9 in December, up from 50.9 in November and the highest in nearly four years.

Aside from the 30 January downdraft in the US along with many global equity markets on the
heels of Trumps executive order implementing a temporary travel ban on seven countries, the
business mood in the US has been buoyant.

1
While Trump has spurred both enthusiasm about lower taxes, less regulation and major
infrastructure spending as well as concerns about protectionist trade policies, and potential
clashes with other nations, the US equity market has largely climbed Trumps proverbial wall
of worry with recent record highs on all three major indexes.

And its not just a US phenomenon. Even in light of the impending Brexit, the UK equity market
as measured by the FTSE 100 recently hit a record high, as did Germanys DAX. Yet Chinas
SSE Composite Index, while rising, is far off its bubble peaks in 2007 and mid-2015. Japans
Nikkei 225 is likewise on the upswing, but a long way from its 1989 peak.

The US is in its 7th year of economic expansion the third longest on record but one
characterised by much slower growth than past expansions. The longest was from 1991-2001.
Can the US economy keep going and even pick up momentum?

This remains to be seen as sentiment can shift easily. The US temporary travel ban and the trial
balloon talk of a 20% border tax (tariff) for imports from Mexico could signal a hard line on not
just immigration, but on trade. Thats likely rattling markets in the short term.

Separately, a proposed border adjustment tax (different than a simple border tax) in the US
Congress is an entirely different animal different species, but still in the animal kingdom.

In this more complicated tax system, export sales would be tax advantaged (exempt as taxable
revenue or a portion of it), while imported costs would be penalised (not being allowed to be
deducted as a cost or a portion of it).

That would mightily favour companies that produce products in the US for export. It would
include a number of US chemical producers, especially those that are building massive cracker
complexes in the US with downstream polyethylene (PE) that is primarily or significantly for
export.

It would in turn disrupt and devastate US companies that mostly imported products or raw
materials for sale in the US. Supply chains would have to be reconfigured.

US President Trump has yet to signal support for such a border adjustment tax, being more vocal
on direct import tariffs and a simple reduction of US corporate taxes. Direct tariffs would make
the US more prone to retaliatory tariffs from other countries, potentially harming chemical and
polymer exports.

Even without the swirling debate on any potential new tax regimes, manufacturing activity in the
US, Europe and China is swinging in the right direction. For chemical producers, so is crude oil,
which is holding up well after the OPEC agreement, providing upward momentum for pricing.

Dow is not only bullish on the global economy but also on ethylene and PE in particular, seeing
no usual trough in the cycle but rather an extended plateau, even amid major supply additions set
to come on in the US in 2017 and 2018 from a wave of new crackers.

2
While several analysts and consultants expect a trough in ethylene and PE operating rates in
2018-2019 as major new capacity comes on and ramps up in the US, Dow only sees a flattening.

It would be unwise to deem the ethylene cycle, historically characterised by peaks and valleys,
dead. But a strong crude oil price and a pick-up in the global economy could go a long way
towards mitigating a downturn.

Pennsylvania town approves construction of

Shell petrochem facility
1/20/2017

(Reuters) -- The town council of Potter, Pennsylvania unanimously approved a conditional use
permit late Wednesday allowing a unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC to move forward with
construction of a multibillion-dollar petrochemical complex near Pittsburgh.

Last June, Shell's Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC unit made a final investment decision to build
the complex, which includes an ethylene cracker.

Ray Fisher, a spokesman at Shell, said on Thursday the company has not disclosed the cost of
the project. Local media has reported the project will cost about $6 billion.

The facility will use low-cost ethane from shale gas producers in the Marcellus and Utica basins
in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia to produce 1.6 MMt of polyethylene per year.

"We greatly appreciate the Supervisors' due diligence and their careful consideration throughout
the process ... and ... look forward to fulfilling our goal of constructing a world-class
polyethylene manufacturing facility in Potter Township," Shell said in a statement emailed on
Thursday.

Polyethylene is a plastic used in many products, from food packaging and containers to
automotive components.

Ethane, a natural gas liquid, is the US chemical industry's main feedstock.

Fisher at Shell said the company was still waiting for a permit from the state of Pennsylvania and
was continuing its early work to get the site ready for construction.

The company expects to be able to start construction sometime near the end of 2017, with a
target in-service date early in the next decade.

"Thanks to abundant supplies of natural gas, the US chemical industry is investing in new
facilities and expanded production capacity, which tends to attract downstream industries that

3
rely on petrochemical products," Cal Dooley, President and Chief Executive of the American
Chemistry Council (ACC), said in a statement on Thursday.

"Shell's pioneering project -- the first of its kind outside the Gulf Coast -- could be the
cornerstone for regional economic growth for decades to come," Dooley said.

The project will bring lots of jobs to the region, with up to 6,000 construction workers involved
in building the facility, and an expected 600 permanent employees when completed.

A cracker plant breaks down large molecules from oil and gas into smaller ones. An ethylene
cracker produces base petrochemical "building blocks" which are the first stage in the chemicals
manufacturing chain. Polyethylene is a derivative of ethylene.

Malaysia's Petronas says RAPID project on

track for 2019 start-up
1/26/2017

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -- Malaysia's state oil firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad said on
Thursday its new $27 billion refining and petrochemical complex project in the southeast Asian
country is on track for start-up in 2019.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday that Saudi Aramco had shelved its
plans for a partnership with the company, known as Petronas, on the Refinery and Petrochemical
Integrated Development (RAPID) project, raising questions about its future.

RAPID, located within the Pengerang Integrated Complex in the southern Malaysian state of
Johor, is designed to have a 300,000-bpd oil refinery and a petrochemical complex with a
production capacity of 7.7 MMt.

Petronas said in a statement late on Thursday the development had reached the 54% progress
mark to date and was expected to generate positive returns for the company.

"Petronas would like clarify that its Pengerang Integrated Complex project will continue to be
the focus of its downstream growth agenda in the coming years," the company said in a
statement emailed to Reuters.

"Despite the current slowdown in the world economy and depressed oil prices, the... investment
remains a priority for Petronas."

The statement made no reference to Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-run oil and gas giant.

Aramco's move to suspend plans for the Malaysian venture comes at a time when Petronas is
struggling with the slump in oil prices.

4
In early 2016 Petronas said it would cut spending by up to $11.29 billion over the next four
years. It has also slashed the dividend it pays to the Malaysian government.

Eni, SONATRACH sign agreement to study

feasibility of petchem complex in Algeria
1/26/2017

San Donato Milanese -- Versalis (Eni) and SONATRACH signed today in Algiers a
Memorandum of Understanding to carry out joint feasibility studies for an integrated
petrochemical complex to be built in Algeria.

The agreement follows the cooperation agreement signed by Eni and SONATRACH last
November and provides for the terms of a study aiming at enhancing hydrocarbons with value
added petrochemical products through the development, in Algeria, of one or a few world-scale
industrial petrochemical facilities.

This agreement represents an opportunity for Versalis to collaborate with an integrated oil
corporation, to which the Italian chemical producer will offer its industrial experience in
managing large petrochemical plants, and the access to its proprietary technologies, within the
framework of strategic joint projects, the company said in a press release.

Saudi Aramco shelves $27-B refining,

petrochemical project JV with Petronas
1/25/2017

KUWAIT (Reuters) -- Saudi Aramco has shelved plans for a partnership with Malaysian state-oil
firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad in a $27 billion refining and petrochemical project in the
southeast Asian country, industry sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Aramco had been in talks with Petronas about a joint venture in the Refinery and Petrochemical
Integrated Development (RAPID) project in the southern Malaysian state of Johor.

Aramco and Petronas officials did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

"I believe the proposal was still in an initial discussion phase," said Sadad al-Husseini a former
senior executive at Saudi Aramco and now an energy consultant.

"In any case, considering the scale of the investment, China's growing regional exports of refined
products, Singapore's existing refining capacity and the competition this project would have

5
created to Aramco's own JV refineries in Korea, China and Japan, its deferral was probably a
very well considered and prudent Aramco management decision at this time."

The RAPID project, launched in 2012 and expected to begin operations in the first quarter of
2019, is designed to have a 300,000-bpd oil refinery and a petrochemical complex with a
production capacity of 7.7 MMt.

Petronas last year sought proposals for a $7.2 billion loan for the project, with separate
guarantees from the company and Aramco, Thomson Reuters IFR reported in June.

Aramco's move to suspend plans for the Malaysian venture comes at a time when Petronas is
struggling with the slump in oil prices.

In early 2016 Petronas said it would cut spending by up to $11.27 billion over the next four
years. It has also slashed the dividend it pays to the Malaysian government.

Petronas also has yet to make a final investment decision on a controversial $27 billion liquefied
natural gas project in Canada that has come criticism from aboriginal and environmental groups.

Reporting by Reem Shamseddine in Kuwait and A. Ananthalakshmi in Kuala Lumpur; Writing by

Rania El Gamal; Editing by Jason Neely, Greg Mahlich

Saudi petchem giant SABIC's profit jumps as

industry recovers
1/19/2017

RIYADH (Reuters) -- Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), one of the world's largest
petrochemicals groups, gave further evidence of a recovery in the sector on Thursday with its
first profit rise in ten quarters.

Among nearly a dozen Saudi petrochemical companies that have reported fourth-quarter results,
most have posted higher earnings. The industry has been squeezed by the plunge of oil prices
since 2014 and also by Saudi government austerity measures, which raised the cost of gas
feedstock.

SABIC's net profit jumped 47.7% from a year earlier to $1.21 billion in the three months to Dec.
31.

On Wednesday PetroRabigh, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo
Chemical, said it had swung to a net profit of 183 million riyals from a loss of 1.01 billion riyals
a year ago.

6
SABIC said its performance was the result of aggressive cost-cutting in response to low oil
prices.

Fourth-quarter sales edged down to 34.03 billion riyals from 34.16 billion riyals a year ago, but
chief executive Yousef al-Benyan told a news conference that he thought business would
improve.

"We think 2017 will be positive compared to 2016 because of growth in major economies, the
United States, China. There are sort of challenges in the European market on the back of Brexit,
but generally we expect the performance of the European market to be similar to 2016."

Benyan added that he was optimistic oil prices would meet international analysts' expectations of
around $45 to $55 a barrel this year, which would be positive for SABIC's business. Last year,
Brent crude averaged about $45.

Asked about SABIC's outlook in the United States, where president-elect Donald Trump has
pledged to promote local companies, Benyan said he was confident of expanding business there,
noting that SABIC was considering a proposal for a joint venture with Exxon Mobil.

He also said his company, which is majority-owned by the Saudi government, had no plans to
suspend domestic projects despite financial pressures on Riyadh due to low oil prices.

A feasibility study for a multi-billion dollar oil-to-chemicals project with national oil giant Saudi
Aramco is progressing well, he added. A pre-front end engineering and design contract, marking
the start of the preliminary engineering phase of the project, is expected to be awarded this year.

Benyan said SABIC had no plan for any new borrowing. In fact, the company is deleveraging,
said chief financial officer Mosaed al-Ohali; Benyan said it would pay down 13 billion riyals of
debt maturing this year.

The company's results are closely tied to oil prices and global economic growth because its
products -- such as plastics, fertilizers and metals -- are used extensively in construction,
agriculture, industry and the manufacturing of consumer goods.

SABIC said in October it had combined its chemicals and polymers businesses and would spin
off its steel unit as part of restructuring efforts.

Saudi chemicals producers see profits rise

19 January, 2017By Sarmad Khan

Sabic reported a net profit of SR4.55bn for last three months of 2016
PetroRabigh swung to a fourth-quarter net profit
Sipchem more than doubles its fourth quarter 2016 net income

7
Drop in cost of sales, improved sales volumes and higher valuation of inventories helped
profitability

Petrochemicals producers in Saudi Arabia have reported a quarterly net profit surge, led by Saudi
Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) as a drop in the cost of sales, improved efficiencies and
higher valuation of inventories boots income.

Sabic said its fourth quarter 2016 net profit surged more than 47 per cent to SR4.55bn ($1.21bn),
up from SR3.08bn recorded for the same period of 2015.

The increase in net income is attributable to lower average cost of sales, Sabic said in a
statement to Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), where its shares are traded.

The profit for the last three months was 12.84 per cent lower than SR5.22bn reported for the
third quarter of last year. The full-year 2016 net income also slid 4.58 per cent to SR17.91 from
SR18.77bn at the end of December 2015.

The company said its yearly profit was affected due to an impairment against the assets of Ibn
Rushd, which amounted to SR706m and Sabics share of that was SR339m.

Sabic, the largest listed firm in the Middle East and fourth-largest petrochemicals company in the
world, is likely to spin off its steel business unit Hadeed in July or August 2017, Abdulaziz
Sulaiman al-Humaid, executive vice president, metals, Sabic, and former chairman, Hadeed said
at a conference in December. His comments followed Sabics October announcement of
restructuring its business.

Sabic, like many other petrochemicals producers in the region has struggled to maintain profit
growth in the past year as demand for its products fell globally. Despite tougher economic
conditions, the company is going ahead with expansion plans.

The company expects to conclude the feasibility study of its estimated $30bn joint venture oil-to-
chemicals project with Saudi Aramco in the second half of next year, its vice chairman and chief
executive, Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan said in November.

Sabic also has aspiration to expand its global footprint and it is studying a joint venture
development of a petrochemicals complex on the Gulf Coast of the US with an affiliate of
ExxonMobil. The potential petrochemical complex would also include an ethylene production
unit, which will supply ethylene to other units to produce ethylene derivatives. The company, in
May, also signed an agreement with Chinas Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, which could
lead to a complex being built in China.

PetroRabigh

Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (PetroRabigh), another Riyadh-listed producer

swung to a fourth-quarter net profit as improved operations and higher inventory valuations
boosted profitability.

8
The firm reported net income of SR183m ($48.8m) in the three months ended 31 December
2016, which compares with a loss of SR1.01bn for the same period in 2015.

The fourth quarter profit rose due to relatively stable operations, the company said in a bourse
filing, adding that the feedstock price increase also positively impacted inventory valuations.

PetroRabigh also reported a full-year 2016 net profit to SR37m for the 12-month period, a
turnaround from SR759m loss recorded at the end of 2015.

The company, a joint venture between the worlds biggest oil exporter, Saudi Aramco and
Japans Sumitomo Chemical, in September appointed Nasser al-Mahasher as president and chief
executive. In June, it awarded a construction contract to Italys Saipem for the second-phase
expansion of its petrochemicals facilities. The 30-month deal to expand PetroRabighs chemicals
complex is worth $208.5m and includes a plant to process and recover vanadium and a unit to
dispose of caustic soda.

The total project cost is estimated at about $8.1bn and PetroRabigh has already raised $5.2bn to
support the second-phase expansion, on which Japans Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
and the local Sabb were the financial advisers. The company in December said it has appointed
HSBC Saudi Arabia as financial adviser for a SR9.26bn rights issue to fund its expansion.

Spichem

Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) also announced doubling of its net profit
for the last three months of 2016.

Sipchem said its net incom rose to SR52.3m for three-month period ended on 31 December
2016, from SR26m reported for same period a year earlier. An increase in overall production, a
27 per cent jump in sales volumes and price increase of some of its products including methanol
boosted profits.

Investment income increased 134.3 per cent due to increases in deposit rates offered by banks
on short term deposits and due to improved treasury management initiatives, the company said
in a statement to Tadawul.

Sipchems full-year net income, however fell from SR288.2m at the end of 2015 to SR70m last
year.

9
Saudi's SABIC to buy remaining stake of
Shell in JV for $820m
23 January 2017 03:33

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) has signed an agreement to buy out
Royal Dutch Shell Plcs 50% shares in their joint venture petrochemicals company SADAF for
$820m, the two companies said in a joint statement over the weekend.

This marks an early termination of the joint venture (JV) agreement which was due to expire in
2020, the statement added.

The SADAF joint venture, located at Jubail Industrial City, has six petrochemical plants with a
total output of more than 4m tonnes/year.

With this transaction SABIC is looking to capitalize on synergy opportunities of SADAF with
other affiliates, and improve its operation and profitability, according to Yousef Al-Benyan,
SABIC Vice chairman and CEO.

Meanwhile, the sale of SADAF will allow Shell to focus on its downstream activities and make
selective investments to support the growth of its global chemicals business, the statement said.

The transaction which is expected to be completed before the end of this year is subject to
regulatory approval, it added.

Abu Dhabi shifts petrochemicals strategy

4 January, 2017By Mark Watts

Aromatics to be part of gasoline project at Ruwais

Adnoc shelved standalone aromatics project in 2016
UAE has long way to go to meet 2025 capacity target

UAE puts expansion plans under state refining company after shelving previous aromatics
scheme

Abu Dhabis ambitious expansion plans in the petrochemicals sector are starting to take shape
after key contracts were awarded on a major project to produce aromatics.

When Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) announced last year that it planned to more
than double petrochemicals capacity by 2025 it was difficult to see where this would be
achieved.

10
MEED had revealed in July 2016 that Abu Dhabis only major standalone petrochemicals
project, known as Tacaamol, had been put on hold after several setbacks since it was conceived
in 2008.

Industry sources at the time said that the aromatics capacity planned in Tacaamol could be
incorporated into another project at the Ruwais refinery, and Adnoc now appears to be going
ahead with this plan.

Adnoc subsidiary Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer) has awarded two contracts on the
new Gasoline and Aromatic Project (GAP). The front-end engineering & design (feed) study was
awarded to UK-based Amec Foster Wheeler, while Frances Axens picked up the deal to supply
process licence technologies.

US-based Jacobs Engineering was awarded the project management consultancy (PMC) for the
feed phase, which is expected to be completed in January 2018.

GAP is planned to add 4.2 million tonnes a year (t/y) of gasoline capacity and 1.6 million t/y of
aromatics capacity to the Ruwais site. New facilities will include light and heavy naphtha
hydrotreaters units, light naphtha isomerisation units, two heavy naphtha reformer units, an
aromatics extraction unit and paraxylene and benzene production units.

The 1.6 million t/y of new paraxylene and benzene capacity is smaller than the 1.9 million t/y
that had been planned under Tacaamol, but roughly replaces the previous plans with an added
gasoline element to the project.

Abu Dhabi aims to increase petrochemicals capacity to 11.4 million t/y by 2025 from 4.5 million
t/y in 2016 and the addition of the GAP aromatics would only give it 5.6 million t/y at
completion.

This leaves Adnoc and its associated companies with 5.8 million t/y worth of additional capacity
to meet the target. It is unclear whether new projects will be linked to refining and naphtha
feedstock or a further expansion phase at the UAEs largest petrochemical producer Borouge.

Borouge, which used ethane gas feedstock to produce polyolefin plastics, has faced barriers to
expansion plans in recent years due to the difficult of receiving a gas allocation. Gas is in
relatively short supply with the UAE having been a net importer since 2007.

The UAE may opt for a new mixed-feed cracker under Borouge, combining ethane and naphtha
to produce a wider range of products, as has been pursued in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Sadara Chemical Company, the joint venture of Saudi Aramco and US-based Dow Chemical
Company, has invested $20bn to create 3 million t/y of capacity. The UAE could require an even
larger investment to meet its 2025 target.

11
Pakistan to build first naphtha cracker
complex PCMA
25 January 2017 03:31

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Pakistan is planning to set up its first petrochemical complex, which

would include a naphtha cracker, in the next five to six years with an investment of $6bn-$8bn,
according to the countrys chemical industry group.

Work may start as soon as possible. Currently, we are trying to pull together a feasibility report.
It [the complex] may take five-six years to complete, Iqbal Kidwai, secretary general of the
Pakistan Chemical Manufacturers Association (PCMA), told ICIS.

The government will provide the funding, starting with the seed-money. It can also adopt the
mode of public-private partnership, depending on the interest, he added.

PCMA will prepare the feasibility study of the complex, and also work on request for proposals
(RFPs), which should have a business plan with complete specifications and timetable for the
NCC project. Pakistans Planning Commission will then advertise the RFPs in newspapers.

In an exclusive meeting between PCMA and Pakistans federal government planning minister
Ahsan Iqbal held on 18 January this year, a historical decision of putting in place [a] naphtha
cracker complex was taken, according to the minutes of the meeting obtained by ICIS.

The minister instructed his team to announce this approval in principle affirming that [the]
government was determined to establish Naphtha Cracker Complex (NCC), acknowledging it as
a strategic need, it stated.

The NCC will be integrated with a petrochemical complex that will produce polypropylene (PP),
polyethylene (PE), ethylene glycol, paraxylene (PX), and few other high-value products in the
beginning, Tahir Qadir, chief consultant at PMCA, said in a separate e-mail.

The NCC is going to be based mainly on naphtha as the country exports 1m tonnes/year of the
material, but may also be able to utilise different feedstock or a mix of feedstock, Qadir added.

Pakistan with a population of about 200m people does not have any petrochemical complex, and
relies mostly on imports to meet domestic needs for chemicals.

However, with the start of work on projects falling under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
(CPEC), the south Asian countrys hunger for petrochemicals is set to rise.

The CPEC involves the construction of geographical linkages to improve road, rail and air
transportation systems between China and Pakistan and already projects worth more than $50bn
have been identified by the two countries.

12
Kidwai said a cracker and petrochemical complex were essential for Pakistan to meet the
growing needs of the country.

I am sure due to CPEC factor, and this being the first ever naphtha cracker plant, its viability is
not a question, he added.

This [cracker complex] is a dream we havethis is our need, and we are determined to have
it.

South Korean firm frontrunner for Sohar

petrochemicals project
31 January, 2017By Jennifer Gnana

Plant to produce 1.1 million tonnes a year of purified terephthalic acid

Oman Oil Company is also developing a 500,000 tonne-capacity polyethylene
terephthalate plant
Second plant is yet to be tendered

Terephthalic acid plant is part of $850m petrochemicals project in northern Oman

Posco Engineering and Construction Company has emerged as the frontrunner for the
engineering and procurement contract for Sohar purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant, according
to sources familiar with the project.

Posco was one of two South Korean firms, the other being Hyundai Engineering and
Construction, to submit bids on the Oman International Petrochemical Industry Company
(Ompet)-operated project.

The PTA plant is being developed in conjunction with the a polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
plant by Oman Oil Company (OOC) as part of an $850m petrochemical project to produce a total
of 1.1 million tonnes of PTA and 500,000 tonnes of PET annually. Both plants will receive
feedstock from the nearby Sohar refinery.

Australias WorleyParsons won the project management contract for both PET and PTA plants.
The PET project has yet to be tendered. Hyundai Engineering & Construction will not bid for the
PET project, according to a source.

Technology for the PTA plant will be supplied by UK-based energy group BP, while German
firm Uhde Inventa-Fischer is the technology provider on the PET plant.

Ompet is fifty per cent owned by OOC, with equity stakes from South Koreas LG International
(30 per cent) and Omans Takamul Investment Company (20 per cent).

13