RIYADH, 29 January 2004 — Gulf Farabi Petrochemical Co., Ltd (GFPC), with a capital of SR1,200 million has signed three agreements worth a total of $213 million for its petrochemical projects at Jubail Industrial City.
Mohammad Ibrahim Al-Bibi, president of GFPC, signed the Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB) technology transfer agreements with Universal Oil Products (UOP) USA, who were represented by Nigel Orchard, Director of Sales. He also signed the On-Plot Facilities contract for Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) with the Canadian Engineering firm, SNC Lavalin, which was represented by John Hutchinson, the senior vice president for the petrochemical sector.
The Off-Plot Facilities EPC contracts were signed with a local contracting firm, M.R. Al-Khathlan Contracting Company. Sami M. Al-Khathlan, president, signed for the company. GFPC president said that the signing heralded the second phase of the construction of the plant that is to be completed by the end of 2005. He hoped that commercial production would start in the first quarter of 2006. This project will use UOP’s latest eco-friendly technology (DETAL) for the manufacture of LAB and UOP’s Molex Process for the manufacture of N-Paraffin. Established in October 2001, GFPC is a 100% Saudi owned company.
