The firm runs three linear low density PE (LLDPE) units with capacities of 970,000 tpy, and a low density PE unit with capacity of 350,000 tpy

Saudi Arabia-based Sadara expects polyethylene (PE) demand in China to rebound in the second half of 2019 as economic sentiment improves, a company official says.

"Q1 was a rough part of the year but we believe we will see a rebound. In China, spot prices are up and we’re seeing less pushback from customers," says a company official at a Saudi Aramco press tour.

"There’s a certain sense of optimism on the part of producers and buyers as well, which echoes for a better second half," he added.

Sadara consists of 26 petrochemical units in Jubail Industrial City and is 65 per cent owned by Saudi Aramco and 35 per cent by US-based Dow.

Sadara runs three linear low density PE (LLDPE) units with capacities of 970,000 tonnes per year (tpy), and a low density PE (LDPE) unit with capacity of 350,000 tpy, according to the ICIS Supply and Demand Database.

Around 38 per cent of Sadara’s PE output is exported to China, with much of it being C4 LLDPE for food packaging and film wrap, says the official.

The rest of Sadara’s PE exports are going into Europe, Africa and other countries in the Middle East, he noted.

For Sadara as a whole, 95 per cent of its production are exported, a level it seeks to decrease as it develops the local Saudi Arabia market and attracts downstream customers to the adjacent PlasChem Park.

Sadara’s other products include ethylene, propylene, ethylene oxide (EO), butyl glycol (BG), amines, propylene oxide (PO), propylene glycol (PG), polyols and isocyanates.

On the feedstock side, Sadara operates 12 furnaces in its mixed feed cracker – seven using gas, and five liquids with three of those five able to switch between feeds, says the official.

Sadara is currently processing around 85,000 standard cubic feet (scf)/day of ethane, and 53,000 bpd of naphtha, for an approximate 60/40 ethane/naphtha mix, he adds.