2015/12/8 

Sadara Joint Venture Begins Polyethylene Production

The Dow Chemical Company today announced that its joint venture in the Middle East – Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara) – has achieved a key milestone of first polyethylene production, meeting previously announced targets to begin production by year-end 2015. This landmark investment has been a key pillar of Dow’s targeted, strategic growth actions over the last several years, and supports the Company’s strategy to enable cost-advantaged growth in fast-growing regions such as Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, India, and Eastern and Central Europe. Sadara is a joint venture developed by Dow and Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco).

“Sadara is a significant chapter in Dow’s consistent and deliberate drive towards targeted, high-margin markets, and today’s milestone is the latest milestone in a new era of transformative growth,” said Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s chairman and chief executive officer. “The Sadara joint venture is an extraordinary collaboration that builds upon the unique strengths of its parent companies to deliver a performance-focused portfolio to drive this global growth, and this investment is further demonstration of Dow’s commitment to deliver consistent, long-term earnings growth and reward our shareholders.”

Sadara’s 26 manufacturing assets remain on schedule for a sequenced start-up process, beginning with the polyolefins envelope to maximize timing in the ethylene cycle, followed by ethylene oxide/propylene oxide and their derivatives.

With commitments from global customers for the full output of the polyethylene units, excitement continues to increase as Dow businesses actively engage in pre-marketing activities and prepare to sell the majority of products produced by Sadara Chemical Company via agreements with the joint venture, to support growth throughout the emerging world in key markets such as packaging, construction, electronics, furniture and bedding, automotive and transportation.

“This milestone represents a new era of growth, as Dow will be able to deliver a technology-rich product portfolio to emerging markets with greater speed. Our customer base is eager for this new volume, and we are pleased to be able to support our customer’s growth in geographies that will benefit from Sadara’s close proximity,” said Diego Donoso, business president, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics.

The performance-focused product portfolio will add new value chains to the Kingdom’s vast petroleum reserves, resulting in the diversification of the economy and region.

August 28, 2017 　

Dow and Saudi Aramco Sign MOU for Potential Equity Ownership Restructure in Sadara Joint Venture

Dow to Potentially Increase Equity Ownership in Sadara to 50 Percent Sadara will add new value chains to Saudi Arabia’s vast petroleum reserves, resulting in the diversification of the economy and region

The Dow Chemical Company and the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) today announced a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that sets forth a process for Dow to acquire an additional 15 percent ownership interest from Saudi Aramco in Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara), a joint venture developed by the two companies. The current equity ownership split is 65 percent Saudi Aramco and 35 percent Dow. If the potential transaction is concluded as presently proposed, Dow and Saudi Aramco would each hold a 50 percent equity stake in Sadara.

“Sadara is the result of a game-changing partnership between Saudi Aramco and Dow by delivering market-driven solutions that support the diversification of the country’s economy,” said Andrew Liveris, Dow’s chairman and CEO. “Increasing our equity stake in this iconic joint venture is a powerful example of our strategic partnership with Saudi Aramco and is yet another accelerator in Dow’s long-term growth strategy designed to capture growing consumer-led demand in our key end-markets of transportation, infrastructure, packaging, and consumer products in developing regions.”

Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said, “We are proud of our partnership with Dow given its preeminent stature among the world’s leading chemical companies. Dow’s larger stake in Sadara is an endorsement of the Kingdom’s vibrant ecosystem, and signals Dow’s confidence in our partnership as a model of mutually beneficial foreign direct investment. The time is right to fully leverage Dow’s global leadership to further contribute to the Kingdom’s economic transformation in line with Vision 2030.”

The potential equity equalization would occur following the later of two events―
 (i) the intended separation of the Materials Science Company, within 18 months after the close of the merger of equals between Dow and DuPont  on August 31 and
(ii) Sadara’s completion of the Creditors’ Reliability Test, which is part of the limited-recourse financing used to fund the Sadara project development.
The anticipated financial impact of the potential transaction is not being disclosed. The Sadara financial structure and governance remain unchanged.

The Sadara chemical complex―the largest of its kind ever built in a single phase―is currently operating all of its 26 world-scale units that manufacture a portfolio of valued-added performance plastics and specialty chemicals. The more than three million metric tons of performance-focused products serving the Packaging, Transportation, Infrastructure and Consumer markets will add new value chains to Saudi Arabia’s vast hydrocarbon reserves, resulting in the diversification of the economy and region.