Sabic backs out of Trinidad methanol project

Saudi Arabian chemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) is pulling back from its planned participation with China’s state-owned petrochemicals group Sinopec in a US$5.3 billion methanol project in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Saudi producer said the partners had failed to agree on fundamental conditions for the complex. Some sources said the stumbling block was a failure to agree on the price of natural gas.
With shale gas exploitation changing the rules of the feedstock game, U.S. chemical producers are claiming a cost advantage over other international producers.
(April 4, 2013)