LyondellBasell expands core PP business with NATPET deal

In a move that aims to strengthen its core polypropylene (PP) business, material supplier LyondellBasell is acquiring a 35 per cent interest in Saudi Arabia–based National Petrochemical Industrial Company (NATPET) from Alujain Corp., for approximately US$500 million.

In a statement, LyondellBasell officials said the deal gives it access to “advantaged feedstocks, plus additional product marketing capacity, in a strategic region.”

Alujain and LyondellBasell 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, the statement said.

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 LyondellBasell’s 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 LyondellBasell CEO Peter Vanacker. “We are pleased to invest in this joint venture, which leverages [our] technology, leading global market positions and Alujain’s proven operational excellence. We expect the joint venture will add value both through our ownership interest, as well as marketing of the products in key regions.”