Sabic entered a three-year agreement earlier this year to supply 200,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of ethylene glycol to polyester producer Huvis of Seoul, South Korea.

The deal represents 53 per cent of Huvis' ethylene glycol needs of about 380,000 tpy, according to reports.

Sabic has a combined ethylene glycol capacity of 2.3 million tpy through its affiliates Sharq and Yanpet.

The combined capacity is equal to about 20 per cent of demand worldwide. Sharq has three production units and more than 1.4 million tpy in capacity, while Yanpet doubled its capacity for ethylene glycol to 840,000 tpy through its major expansion last year.

A newly established unit, Jubail United Petrochemical Company (UNITED), will construct Sabic's sixth ethylene glycol plant.

The 460,000 tpy plant is likely to come on stream in 2004.