Poland Looks to the Mid East for Gas Processing Technologies

Poland invites Saudi petrochemical giant to invest in production of ethane derived from shale gas.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk held talks with Prince Saud Bin Abdullah Bin Thunayan, the chairman of the SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation). The talks at the SABIC headquarters was a part of his visit to Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

As the Polish press reports, industry leaders accompanying PM Tusk see SABIC as a potential provider of advanced gas processing technologies. According to the CEO of the PKN Orlen, Jacek Krawiec, SABIC has developed a unique technology of separating ethane from shale gas.

Donald Tusk said, that it is high likely that Poland's PKN Orlen and SABIC would start a joint venture on quite a large scale.  Polish PM also hoped that SABIC would consider Poland as a best location for its next European chemical plant.

Neither SABIC chairman or CEO Mohamed al-Mady confirmed interest in any new large scale investment in Poland, although both underlined the growing significance of Poland as an export market. Currently the company has an office in Warsaw and distribution center in the central Lodzkie region.

SABIC is the state-controlled firm, one of the world largest chemical companies. Its gas-processing capability makes it a world major producer of ethylene, which is a basic chemical product, used mainly to generate most common plastic, polyethylene.

Its main competitors, American petrochemical companies, are currently developing an ambitious investment plans in the US, looking at the opportunities to use natural gas for chemical manufacturing.