(EnergyAsia, March 8 2011, Tuesday) — www.Twitter.com/EnergyContents

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) said it and ExxonMobil Chemical affiliates have advanced their proposed elastomers project joint venture into the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase. 
 
SABIC and ExxonMobil have selected the Saudi Arabian industrial city of Jubail as the site for the new manufacturing units following a comprehensive evaluation of a number of variables, including integration opportunities with their existing petrochemical joint venture at KEMYA, to determine the best location for producing these specialty products.

As previously announced, plans would establish a domestic supply of more than 400,000-tonne-per-year of rubber, thermoplastic specialty polymers and carbon black to serve emerging local and international markets in Asia and the Middle East.

The project also includes a vocational training institute and product application development and support centre, which is aligned with Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Clusters Development Program to grow and diversify the kingdom’s manufacturing sector.