Germany's Evonik, Saudi's Tasnee & Sahara in JV

Saudi Arabia's Tasnee & Sahara Olefins Company signed an agreement with Germany's Evonik Industries to build a 1 billion riyal ($267 million) superabsorbent polymer plant, a statement said on Monday. Tasnee & Sahara Olefins Company is a joint venture between Saudi industrial group Tasnee and Sahara Petrochemical Co. The new plant will have a capacity of 80,000 tonnes annually, a Tasnee statement said.

"The superabsorbent polymer project is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2013, with a preliminary cost of 1bn riyals," the firm said. Germany's Evonik said last year that it was considering investments in Saudi Arabia's chemical industry that could amount to as much as $1.5bn by 2012. The firm said it could launch up to three joint ventures, each costing between $400-500m, over the next three years.