Sabic’s three fertiliser affiliates operating in the Eastern Region are helping meet nearly all of Saudi Arabia’s requirements, leaving some of the production to be exported to near and distant markets.

Saudi Arabian Fertiliser Company (Safco), Al Jubail Fertiliser Company (Al Bayroni) and National Chemical Fertiliser Company (Ibn Al Baytar) have helped build a strong foundation for the supply of fertilisers needed for global food security, a Sabic spokesman says.
The Sabic fertiliser strategic business unit (SBU) consists of two sections, namely urea and ammonia/phosphates, and the product range includes urea, ammonia, diammonia/phosphates, compound and liquid fertilisers. In the urea sector, Sabic has been one of the leading producers and exporters in the world.
The kingdom’s entire urea and ammonia demand is met by Sabic, while it meets 90 per cent of the kingdom’s total requirement of phosphate fertiliser.
In 2005 Sabic’s Fertiliser SBU produced 5.4 million tonnes of products against 5.2 million tonnes in 2004.
The breakdown of the 2004 production was ammonia 2.1 million tonnes; urea 2.73 million tonnes; phosphate and compound liquid 295,000 tonnes and sulphuric acid 101,000 tonnes.
The breakdown of the 2005 production was ammonia 2.16 million tonnes; urea 2.83 million tonnes; phosphate, compound and liquid 317,000 tonnes and sulphuric acid 100,000 tonnes.
The Saudi Arabian Fertiliser Company (Safco) reported a record 2005 net profit of SR1.1 billion ($293 million) compared with SR660 million in 2004.  Fourth-quarter 2005 net profits were SR281.4 million compared with SR251.5 million in the same period in 2004.
 Safco’s profits in 2005 were the highest ever reported, exceeding the previous record profits reported in 2004 by 67 per cent. This was due to price increases in major products, a 2 per cent rise in production and a 10 per cent increase in overall sales in 2005 compared with 2004.
“The fourth-quarter 2005 decrease of 18 per cent in profits compared with the profits in the third quarter of 2005 can be attributed to a decrease in the volume of sales by 13 per cent and the rise of costs associated with the periodical maintenance of Safco-3 plants in Al-Jubail Industrial City,” a company spokesman said. The Safco-4 expansion project is expected to begin commercial production in the second quarter of 2006. The combined fertiliser production will reach 8 million tonnes per year (tpy) when Safco-4 comes on stream.
On the international front, Sabic fertiliser industry enjoyed impressive results in 2005, thanks to the favourable nitrogen supply/demand conditions worldwide. The year was characterised by strong import demand and robust domestic deliveries in most of the main consuming countries in Asia, the Americas and elsewhere. Escalating energy prices — exacerbated by the devastating effect of the hurricanes Katrina and Rita that disrupted oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico — propelled natural gas prices in the United States, thus driving nitrogen prices at their peak levels - not seen in the past two to three decades.
In 2005, Sabic exported 2.6 million tonnes of urea to various markets across the globe. The company achieved this high volume of exports by virtue of strong imports into the US, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and elsewhere. In the same period, Sabic also exported approximately 600,000 tonnes of ammonia to various markets worldwide.
Safco, located in Dammam, is owned 41 per cent by Sabic, 10 per cent by Safco employees and 49 per cent by private Saudi Arabian companies and Al Jubail shareholders. The company was established in 1965 and uses methane and sulphur as feedstock. Its products are ammonia, urea, sulphuric acid and melamine.
Al Bayroni (Al Jubail Fertiliser Company) is an equal partnership between Sabic and Taiwan Fertiliser Company. It was set up in 1979 and uses methane and propylene as feedstock. Its product range is ammonia, urea, 2-theyl hexanol and DOP1385.
The Ibn Al Baytar company (National Chemical Fertiliser Company) is a joint partnership between Sabic and Safco. It was established in 1985 and came on stream two years later. Located in Jubail, it uses methane and phosphoric acid and makes methane and phosphoric acid.