Construction of a new styrene plant in Jubail established by an affiliate of Saudi Industrial Investment Group (SIIG) is expected to be completed in first-quarter 2008.

The styrene facility, built at an existing aromatics plant, will include feed fractionation, an olefins cracker, ethylbenzene and styrene monomer process units, and associated utilities and infrastructure.
The existing aromatics plant, expanded as part of the project, will supply feedstock to the styrene facility.  The new styrene facility will be owned by Jubail Chevron Phillips Company, a 50/50 joint venture between SIIG and Arabian Chevron Phillips Petrochemical Company Limited, a subsidiary of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC. 
The existing plant is owned by Saudi Chevron Phillips Company, another joint venture between SIIG and Arabian Chevron Phillips Petrochemical Company Ltd.
JGC Corporation was responsible for engineering and procurement at the new plant, while JGC Arabia undertook construction.
Production at the new plant will include 715,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of styrene and 150,000 tpy of propylene as well as 300,000 tpy of motor gasoline.
Styrene is an aromatic monomer derived from benzene and ethylene. It is used to produce a wide variety of polymers with diverse end uses that include packaging, automotive applications, electronic parts, rubber articles, paper, houseware, tires, luggage, construction materials, carpeting, and toys. Worldwide demand for styrene is increasing, particularly in Asia.
Financing for the estimated $1.2 billion joint venture project has come through capital contributions from the co-venturers and loans from commercial banks and Saudi government agencies. 
JGC has a strong background in lump-sum turnkey operations of both hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon related projects.  In Saudi Arabia, JGC started construction activities in the 1960s and by the time it won the Jubail Chevron Phillips contract in 2004 it had already worked on more than 15 projects, including Saudi Aramco’s Haradh and Hawiyah gas plants that were successfully completed in 2001 and 2003 respectively.
Saudi Chevron Philips Company was established in 1997 with a paid-up capital of SR665 million ($177.2 million). It produces benzene (550,000 tpy), cyclohexane (280,000 tpy) and motor gasoline (370,000 tpy). The total cost of the project was SR2.4 billion. Production commenced in 2000.
Chevron Corporation and Phillips Petroleum Company, now ConocoPhillips, combined their worldwide petrochemical businesses in July 2000, excluding Chevron’s oronite additives business, to form Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC. Chevron and ConocoPhillips each own 50 per cent of Chevron Phillips Chemical.
Chevron Phillips Chemical is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. It produces chemical products that are essential to manufacturing over 70,000 consumer and industrial products.
It currently has 30 production facilities located in the United States, Puerto Rico, Singapore, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Belgium. It has plans to set up another venture next year.
SIIG was set up to develop Saudi Arabia’s industrial base, especially petrochemical industries, and to provide private companies opportunities to participate in ventures downstream of petrochemical industries. It has plans to set up another venture next year.
The company increased its capital in 2006 from SR1.8 billion to SR2.25 billion.
Its net profit for the first half of 2007 was down 24 per cent to SR193 million compared to the corresponding period in 2006.
The company said the downturn in net income was caused by a 70-day production shutdown of the first project (Saudi Chevron Phillips) that started on February 1, 2007 for the purpose of completing the scheduled maintenance and the joint between the first project and the second project (Jubail Chevron Phillips). However, the first project resumed normal production on April 10, 2007.
SIIG achieved sales of SR1.57 billion in 2006 against SR1.15 billion in the previous year. Net profits were SR586.9 million in 2006 and SR414.7 billion in 2005.
The group is publicly traded on the Saudi stock exchange and includes among its shareholders leading Saudi businessmen and several Saudi public joint stock companies focused on industrial investment in the petrochemical industry in Saudi Arabia.  The chairman of the group is Sheikh Abdulaziz Zaid Al-Quraishi.  The late Sheikh Ahmad Juffali in 1985 originally founded the group as the Saudi Industrial Venture Capital Group (SIVCG).