State-owned Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) and Japan’s Mitsubishi Rayon Company (MRC) have yet to sign a contract with Taiwan’s CTCI, despite media reports to the contrary.

Recent reports in the media suggested CTCI had been awarded a deal worth $1.2bn for two new petrochemicals plants at Jubail in Saudi Arabia. However, petrochemicals sources in the kingdom state nothing has been finalised and the budget is much lower than the mooted figure.

MEED reported in early June that CTCI was a frontrunner for the scheme and the budget for the project was closer to $500m.

The scope of work for the contract will include the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of two plants that will produce methyl methacrylate (MMA) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) in the Eastern Province.

Tecnicas Reunidas was awarded the front-end engineering and design (feed) contract for the project in January 2012. The capacity for the MMA facility will be 250,000 tonnes a year (t/y), which will make it the largest of its type in the world. The smaller PMMA plant will have a capacity of 40,000 t/y.

MMA and PMMA have several downstream uses including machinery, electrical components and gears. Both facilities fall in line with Sabic’s move to become a key player in the kingdom’s downstream industries.

Sabic and Lucite International, a subsidiary of MRC, are 50:50 joint venture partners on the project.