By Mohammed Alshoaiby
RIYADH — The Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) welcomed professionals from various fields on Tuesday to celebrate the company’s innovation, research and development and their significant contributions to the industry of petrochemical production.
SABIC Innovation Day 2014 focuses on the talent, experience and innovation that have elevated the Kingdom’s status as a global forerunner in a new, sustainable model of production.
Speaking at the event, Prince Saud Bin Abdullah Bin Thenayan, Chairman of SABIC’s board lauded SABIC for its innovation in the field: “SABIC’s board has made innovation a main pillar of its operations.
“SABIC has strived in recent years to grow its innovation segment to tackle global standards, brought upon by continued investment in research and development.”
Mohammed Al Mady, SABIC’s Vice-Chairman and CEO, revealed that SABIC has in its employ around 2,000 researchers focused on innovation across the globe, a number that is expected to double by 2025.
“SABIC has put in place projects that would elevate the Kingdom’s status as a global leader in the industry and, through innovation, produce the largest number of products made from crude oil,” he said.
“All our projects and innovations fall under the banner of sustainability; we are committed to producing more from less.”
Currently, SABIC-owned technologies and innovations have allowed the corporation to apply approximately 10,000 of their innovations in SABIC factories and production facilities around the globe, contributing largely to Saudi Arabia’s diversifying economy.
Among these innovations are breakthroughs in renewable energy, on which Al Mady said: “We are also innovating technologies in electricity generation from renewable sources at a lower cost than the burning of natural gases, as well as innovations in extracting hydrogen from water and producing chemicals from carbon dioxide,” adding that SABIC strives to reduce its carbon footprint and introduce more innovative, sustainable solutions in the production of petrochemicals.
Al Mady revealed that SABIC has sanctioned projects that are estimated to consume 10 million metric tons of crude oil in the production of petrochemicals, at the same time creating 100,000 jobs and enabling the Kingdom to extract double the amount of crude oil when compared to generating fuel.
These reforms are expected to allow the Kingdom to benefit more from its natural resources and might begin taking effect within this decade.
SABIC Innovation Day 2014 promises to facilitate greater knowledge exchange with universities such as King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and King Saud University (KSU), nurturing young talents and promoting innovation that will sustain the economic well being of the Kingdom and its resources.
In four decades SABIC has become a significant contributor and innovator in the field of petrochemicals and plastics, with a range of products necessary for smartphone manufacturing, car manufacturing and even food treatment and preservation.