Refinery work starts in Gulf

Saudi Arabia has started work on a US$10 billion refinery and petrochemical complex, at least 25 per cent of which it plans to float.

Petrorabigh, a joint venture with Japan's Sumitomo Chemical, is due to start production in the second half of 2008. It will produce 18.4 million tonnes of oil products, 1.3 million tonnes of ethylene and 900,000 tonnes of propylene a year.