Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (), known as SABIC (), is a Saudi chemical manufacturing company. 70% of SABIC's shares are owned by

Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ') or Aramco (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas company that is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. , it is the fourth- l ...

. It is active in petrochemicals, chemicals, industrial polymers and fertilizers. It is the second largest

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

as listed in Tadawul. In 2017, SABIC was ranked fourth in the world among chemical companies by

Fortune Global 500 The ''Fortune'' Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by '' Fortune'' magazine. Methodology Until 1989, it listed o ...

. By the end of 2018 SABIC was the world's 281st-largest corporation. In 2014, the company had sales revenues of $50.4 billion, profits of $6.7 billion and assets standing at $90.4 billion. It also has been recognized as the world's second most valuable brand in the chemicals industry by Brand Finance in 2021. SABIC office Sittard

History

SABIC was founded in 1976 by royal decree to convert oil by-products into useful chemicals, polymers, and fertilizers. The first chairman of the company was Ghazi Abdul Rahman Al Gosaibi, the Minister of Industry and Electricity, and the first CEO was Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Zamil. SABIC's founding transformed the small fishing villages of

Jubail Jubail (, ''Al Jubayl'') is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, with a total population of 474,679 as of 2022. It is home to one of the largest industrial cities in the world. It is also home to the Middle ...

on the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

and Yanbu on the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

into modern industrial cities. Production in 1985 was 6.5 million tonnes; five years later production rose to 13 million tonnes and by 2003 production had risen to 42 million tonnes and by 2012 to over 60 million tonnes. SABIC employs more than 40,000 people globally and has 60 manufacturing and compounding plants in over 40 countries. SABIC's manufacturing network in Saudi Arabia consists of 18 affiliates. Most of these are based in the Al-Jubail Industrial City on the coast of the Persian Gulf. Two are located in Yanbu Industrial City on the Red Sea and one is in the eastern city of

Dammam Dammam (Arabic: الدمام ad-Dammām) is a city and governorate, and the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 1,386,166 as of 2022, making it the country's fifth- ...

. SABIC also partners in three regional ventures based in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. SABIC is a market leader in key products such as ethylene,

ethylene glycol Ethylene glycol ( IUPAC name: ethane-1,2-diol) is an organic compound (a vicinal diol) with the formula . It is mainly used for two purposes: as a raw material in the manufacture of polyester fibers and for antifreeze formulations. It is an odo ...

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often ab ...

MTBE Methyl ''tert''-butyl ether (MTBE), also known as ''tert''-butyl methyl ether, is an organic compound with a structural formula (CH3)3COCH3. MTBE is a volatile, flammable, and colorless liquid that is sparingly soluble in water. Primarily used as ...

and

polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bott ...

Operations

SABIC underwent a business restructuring in October 2015, that saw the absorption of the commodity chemicals produced under the Innovative Plastics SBU into the Chemicals and Polymers SBUs. Along with this, the Specialties SBU was created to house the remainder of the Innovative Plastics products that did not fall under the commodity umbrella and the Innovative Plastics SBU would cease to exist by January 1, 2016. This change follows the reallocation of the Performance Chemicals portfolio into the Chemicals SBU. In July 2002, SABIC commenced operations in Europe after the $2 billion acquisition of the petrochemicals business of Dutch group DSM. SABIC Europe, SABIC's European subsidiary, produces over 2 million tonnes of polymers and over 5 million tonnes of basic chemicals. It employs over 3,000 people and has two major manufacturing locations in

Geleen Geleen (; ) is a city in the southern part of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg in the Netherlands. With 31,670 inhabitants in 2020, it is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen. Geleen is situated along the river Geleenbeek, a ri ...

in the Netherlands and

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; ) is the List of cities in Germany by population, 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher, Emscher River (a tribu ...

in Germany. After forming SABIC Europe, SABIC became the 11th-largest petrochemicals company in the world. The purchase of DSM signified SABIC's intent to expand and become a true global company. In 2004, the value of SABIC shares, listed on the

Saudi Stock Exchange Saudi Exchange () or Tadāwul () is a stock exchange in Saudi Arabia. Tadāwul was formed in 2007 as a joint stock company and the sole entity authorized to act as a securities exchange in Saudi Arabia, but trading began in 1954 as an informal f ...

(Tadawul), increased 170% while its net profits increased by 112% from 2003 to 2004.Zawya.com
/ref> In 2005, SABIC was the Middle East's largest (in terms of market capitalization) and most profitable publicly listed non-oil company, the world's 11th-largest petrochemical company, ranked 331 on the ''Fortune Global'' 500 for 2005, the second-largest producer of ethylene glycol and methanol in the world, the third-largest producer of polyethylene and overall the fourth-largest producer of polypropylene and

polyolefin A polyolefin is a type of polymer with the general formula (CH2CHR)n where R is an alkyl group. They are usually derived from a small set of simple olefins (alkenes). Dominant in a commercial sense are polyethylene and polypropylene. More speciali ...

Standard & Poor's S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is co ...

and

Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is considered as being one of the " Bi ...

claimed SABIC to be the world's largest producer of polymers and the Persian Gulf region's largest steel producer for 2005; they assigned SABIC an "A"

corporate credit rating A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as "born out of st ...

. That same year, Bloomberg ranked SABIC as the 13th-largest company in the world in terms of market capitalization (at the beginning of 2005 it exceeded billion, the equivalent of billion) and the second-largest by market value outside the US and UK. In June 2006, SABIC established the "SABIC Sukuk Company" to issue Islamic bonds (

Sukuk Sukuk (; plural of ) is the Arabic name for financial certificates, also commonly referred to as "sharia compliant" bonds. Sukuk are defined by the AAOIFI ( Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions) as "securitie ...

) that are estimated to range between billion ( million) and billion ( million). In January 2007, SABIC Europe took over

Huntsman Corporation Huntsman Corporation is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of chemical products for consumers and industrial customers. Huntsman manufactures assorted polyurethanes, performance products, and adhesives for customers like BMW, ...

plants in the UK. Headquartered in Sittard, Netherlands, SABIC Europe has a European wide network of sales offices and logistic hubs, as well as three petrochemical production sites in Europe: Geleen (Netherlands),

Teesside Teesside () is an urban area around the River Tees in North East England. Straddling the border between County Durham and North Yorkshire, it spans the boroughs of Borough of Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, Stockton ...

(United Kingdom), and Gelsenkirchen (Germany). In 2008, SABIC Europe produced 7.3 million metric tons of petrochemicals, mainly for the European market. On May 21, 2007, SABIC acquired

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

's Plastics division, in a billion cash deal, including billion of its liabilities, and launched SABIC Innovative Plastics. In that year, the company ranked 145 (previous rank: 301) in the

Forbes Global 2000 The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by: sales, profit, assets and market value. The list has been published annually since 2003. By country Forbes Global 2000 as of 2023: ...

list. As of 2014, SABIC Innovative Plastics is a multibillion-dollar company with operations in more than 25 countries and over 9,500 employees worldwide. In July 2009, SABIC received approval from the Chinese government to build a billion petrochemical complex in China, in order to gain a foothold in the world's fastest-growing chemicals market. In January 2018, SABIC announced that it had acquired a 24.99% stake in

Clariant Clariant AG is a Swiss multinational speciality chemical company, formed in 1995 as a spin-off from Novartis#Sandoz, Sandoz. Headquartered in Muttenz, Switzerland, the public company encompasses 68 subsidiaries in 36 countries (2023). Major manu ...

, the Swiss specialty chemical manufacturer. The stake was acquired from activist investor White Tale, and at Clariant's prevailing market-capitalisation would have been valued in the region of $2.4bn. The actual transaction price was undisclosed. SABIC CEO Yousef Al-Benyan had previously stated, in November 2017, that the company was looking to spend $3bn-$10bn on acquisitions over the next 10 years. On March 27, 2019, SABIC announced that state-owned energy company

signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 70% majority stake in SABIC from the

Public Investment Fund The Public Investment Fund (PIF; ) is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of billion. It was created in 1971 for the purpose of investing funds on be ...

of Saudi Arabia in a private transaction worth $69.1 billion. The transaction was completed in June 2020. SABIC moved its European headquarters from Sittard to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in 2024.

Production and major expansions

Expansion operations and investments supposedly amounted to billion in 2007 and billion until 2020. The overall total production in 1985 was 6.3 million metric tons; by the end of 2008 it had reached 56 million metric tons. SABIC supposedly can produce over 135 million metric tons per year.

Financial performance

Net profits of SABIC in 2008 touched billion ( billion), while total assets stood at billion ( billion) at the end of 2008 and the value of current assets at the end of 2008 stood at billion ( billion). The Fortune 500 ranking set SABIC revenues as of $40.2 billion. SABIC reported preliminary consolidated financial results for the period ended September 30, 2010. Net income for the third quarter of 2010 was billion, compared to net income of billion in the same period the previous year, representing an increase of 46 percent and compared to billion for the previous quarter, a rise of 6 percent. According to the 2019 Fortune Global 500 list, SABIC reported $45.1 billion in revenues and $5.7 billion in profits for the 2018-2019 FY, ranking it in fourth place among chemical companies and #252 in the list.

Subsidiaries

*Ibn Sina *Saudi-European Petrochemical Company (Ibn Zahr) *Saudi Carbon Fiber Company *Saudi Petrochemical Company (Sadaf) *National Industrial Gases Co (Gas) *Petrokemya *Kemya *Saudi Methanol Co (Ar-Razi) *Yanpet * Jingga Bin Rasyid Oil Company *Arabian Industrial Fibers Company (Ibn Rushd) *Sharq * SABIC Agri-Nutrients *Jubail United Petrochemical Company (United) * Yansab *Sabtank *Saudi Kayan *Scientific Design *Samac

Products

Ethylene Ethylene (IUPAC name: ethene) is a hydrocarbon which has the formula or . It is a colourless, flammable gas with a faint "sweet and musky" odour when pure. It is the simplest alkene (a hydrocarbon with carbon–carbon bond, carbon–carbon doub ...

Propylene Propylene, also known as propene, is an unsaturated organic compound with the chemical formula . It has one double bond, and is the second simplest member of the alkene class of hydrocarbons. It is a colorless gas with a faint petroleum-like o ...

Butadiene 1,3-Butadiene () is the organic compound with the formula CH2=CH-CH=CH2. It is a colorless gas that is easily condensed to a liquid. It is important industrially as a precursor to synthetic rubber. The molecule can be viewed as the union of two ...

* Butene-1 * Hexene-1 * Octene-1 * Decene-1 * dodecene-1 (C12) * Diodecene-1 (C14-18) * Wax (C20+) *CIE (crude industrial ethanol) *MTBE (

methyl tert-butyl ether Methyl ''tert''-butyl ether (MTBE), also known as ''tert''-butyl methyl ether, is an organic compound with a structural formula (CH3)3COCH3. MTBE is a volatile, flammable, and colorless liquid that is sparingly soluble in water. Primarily used a ...

) *

Styrene Styrene is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5CH=CH2. Its structure consists of a vinyl group as substituent on benzene. Styrene is a colorless, oily liquid, although aged samples can appear yellowish. The compound evaporates easi ...

Monomer *

Benzene Benzene is an Organic compound, organic chemical compound with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar hexagonal Ring (chemistry), ring with one hyd ...

* Paraxylene *CBO (carbon black oil) *

Caustic soda Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions . Sodium hydroxide is a highly corrosive base and alkali t ...

*EDC (

ethylene dichloride The chemical compound 1,2-dichloroethane, commonly known as ethylene dichloride (EDC), is a chlorinated hydrocarbon. It is a colourless liquid with a chloroform-like odour. The most common use of 1,2-dichloroethane is in the production of vinyl ...

) *VCM (

vinyl chloride Vinyl chloride is an organochloride with the formula H2C =CHCl. It is also called vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) or chloroethene. It is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Vinyl chloride is a ...

monomer) *

Phenol Phenol (also known as carbolic acid, phenolic acid, or benzenol) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile and can catch fire. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () ...

Acetone Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone) is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly Volatile organic compound, volatile, and flammable liquid with a charact ...

Bisphenol A Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound primarily used in the manufacturing of various plastics. It is a colourless solid which is Solubility, soluble in most common organic solvents, but has very poor solubility in water. BPA is produced on a ...

Fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

s *

Methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often ab ...

*Lexan (A line of

polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate ester, carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, toughness, tough materials, and some grades are optically transp ...

products) * Noryl PPO *Cycolac (

acrylonitrile butadiene styrene Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) (chemical formula (C8H8)''x''·(C4H6)''y''·(C3H3N)''z'' ) is a common thermoplastic polymer. Its glass transition temperature is approximately . ABS is amorphous and therefore has no true melting point. A ...

) *Cycoloy (

blend) * Ultem (

polyetherimide Polyetherimide (PEI; branded as Ultem) is an amorphous, amber-to-transparent thermoplastic with characteristics similar to the related plastic PEEK. When comparing PEI to PEEK, the former is cheaper but has lower impact strength and a tighter te ...

) *Extem (

polyimide Polyimide (sometimes abbreviated PI) is a monomer containing imide groups belonging to the class of high-performance plastics. With their high heat-resistance, polyimides enjoy diverse applications in roles demanding rugged organic materials, suc ...

) *Geloy (

acrylonitrile styrene acrylate Acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA), also called acrylic styrene acrylonitrile, is an amorphous thermoplastic developed as an alternative to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), that has improved weather resistance. It is an acrylate rubber-mo ...

blend) *Valox (

polybutylene terephthalate Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is a thermoplastic engineering polymer that is used as an insulator in the electrical and electronics industries. It is a thermoplastic (semi-)crystalline polymer, and a type of polyester. PBT resists solvents, s ...

) *Verton (long fiberglass-reinforced polymers) * Xenoy (

/ polybutylene terephthalate blend) *Xylex (

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

/ polycarbonate blend) *EO/EG (

ethylene oxide Ethylene oxide is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula . It is a cyclic ether and the simplest epoxide: a three-membered ring (chemistry), ring consisting of one oxygen atom and two carbon atoms. Ethylene oxide is a colorless ...

) *

Carbon black Carbon black (with subtypes acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black and thermal black) is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of coal tar, vegetable matter, or petroleum products, including fuel oil, fluid cataly ...

EPDM rubber EPDM rubber (ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber) is a type of synthetic rubber that is used in many applications. EPDM is an M-Class rubber under ASTM standard D-1418; the ''M'' class comprises elastomers with a saturated polyethylene chai ...

* HaloButyl *

Polybutadiene Polybutadiene utadiene rubber, BRis a synthetic rubber. It offers high elasticity, high resistance to wear, good strength even without fillers, and excellent abrasion resistance when filled and vulcanized. "Polybutadiene" is a collective name fo ...

rubber *

Polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bott ...

Polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate ester, carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, toughness, tough materials, and some grades are optically transp ...

Polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer Propene, propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefin ...

* Detergent Alcohols (Fatty Alcohol) * Fatty Alcohol Ethoxylates *

Polyethylene Glycol Polyethylene glycol (PEG; ) is a polyether compound derived from petroleum with many applications, from industrial manufacturing to medicine. PEG is also known as polyethylene oxide (PEO) or polyoxyethylene (POE), depending on its molecular wei ...

(PEGs) Notes

References

External links

Official websiteSABIC Innovative Plastics
{{authority control 1976 establishments in Saudi Arabia Chemical companies established in 1976 Companies listed on Tadawul Companies in the MSCI Tadawul 30 Index Plastics companies of Saudi Arabia Government-owned companies of Saudi Arabia Petrochemical companies Saudi Arabian brands 2019 mergers and acquisitions Multinational companies headquartered in Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund