Sabic Chief: Petrochemical prices may rise in coming 3 years

The global outlook for petrochemical demand is positive with a room for prices to rise in the coming three years, said Sabic’s CEO Mohamed Al-Madi.

Forecasts suggest shale gas, a potential feedstock for petrochemicals, will be produced on a commercial scale in the United States as of 2018, leaving room for improvement of petrochemical prices before 2018, Al-Madi told a press conference.

He expected the prices of his company’s products to remain stable till end of 2014, and said the company had keen interest in Africa and plans to open distribution centers across the continent, especially for fertilizers and plastics.

Chief financial officer Mutlaq Morished told the press conference that SABIC's sales in the second quarter climbed to 48.15 billion riyals from 44.99 billion riyals a year earlier.