OIL - LYB Enters into Agreement to Acquire 35% of Saudi Arabia-based NATPET; Expands Core PP Business | Benzinga
- Technology-enabled JV increases LYB access to advantaged feedstocks and attractive markets
- Transaction encompasses existing assets and planned growth projects
HOUSTON and RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LyondellBasell (LYB) today announced it entered into an agreement to acquire a 35% interest in Saudi Arabia–based National Petrochemical Industrial Company (NATPET) from Alujain Corporation (Alujain) for approximately $500 million. Enabled by its Spheripol polypropylene (PP) technology, the joint venture positions LYB to grow and upgrade its core PP business through access to advantaged feedstocks, plus additional product marketing capacity, in a strategic region.
Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary closing conditions. Alujain and LYB are also assessing together potential construction of a new propylene via propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and PP facility at the NATPET site, subject to a final investment decision. The project is being studied with a shared goal to implement solutions that align with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's 2060 carbon reduction strategy.
Alujain is a petrochemicals, energy, mining and metals company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As majority owner of NATPET, the company is a longtime licensee of LYB Spheripol PP technology, one of the solutions it uses to operate a propylene and PP complex in Yanbu Industrial City. NATPET currently has an annual PP production capacity of approximately 400,000 tons.
"This investment in NATPET reflects our strategy of growing and upgrading our core around assets and businesses with lasting advantages," said LYB CEO