Saudi Organometallic Chemicals Company announces start-up of tri-ethyl aluminum (TEA) facility in Saudi Arabia

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Jul 08, 2013, 04:03 ET

AL-JUBAIL, Saudi Arabia, July 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Saudi Organometallic Chemicals Company (SOCC), a joint venture equally owned by Albemarle Netherlands B.V., a subsidiary of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) and Saudi Specialty Chemical Company, an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) announced today the initial start-up of its aluminum alkyls facility located in Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia. At capacity, it will manufacture 6,000 metric tons per year of tri-ethyl aluminum (TEA), a Ziegler Natta co-catalyst used in the plastics industry. An ultra-low hydride grade of TEA (TEA-ULH) will also be produced at the SOCC plant. This new facility is designed to meet the growing needs for TEA and ULH-TEA in the region, using raw materials supplied from member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

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"This state-of-the-art facility clearly demonstrates SOCC's commitment to providing a dependable supply of these essential products to the Middle East," stated Al Saurage, executive general manager of SOCC. "This is a great achievement for our team and truly demonstrates the power of collaboration."

"Together with SABIC, we are bringing the production of our value-added products closer to the end-user," said Luke Kissam, CEO of Albemarle Corporation. "Successful expansion into high-growth regions such as Al-Jubail enables closer collaboration with our customers and supports our strategy for smart, sustainable growth."

Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC vice chairman and CEO, commented, "The SOCC start-up is yet another milestone in SABIC's growth strategy in a highly competitive plastics market. We once again demonstrate our commitment to stimulate national economic growth, and build long-term relationships with our global customers."

The first batch of TEA, which was successfully completed in mid April, met or exceeded all commercial specifications. Full commercial production is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2013 once customer qualifications are completed.

About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services. The Company is committed to global sustainability and is advancing its eco-practices and solutions in its three business segments, Polymer Solutions, Catalysts and Fine Chemistry. Corporate Responsibility Magazine selected Albemarle to its prestigious "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list for 2010, 2011 and 2013. Albemarle employs approximately 4,200 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings, and other information regarding the Company, its businesses and the markets we serve.

About SABIC
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 24.72 billion (US$ 6.59 billion) in 2012. Sales revenues for 2012 totaled SR 189 billion (US$ 50.40 billion). Total assets stood at SR 338 billion (US$ 90.13 billion) at the end of 2012.

SABIC's businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with 18 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, India, China and South Korea. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with around 40,000 employees worldwide.

SABIC manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.

SOURCE Albemarle Corporation