KUWAIT CITY, July 13: Well-informed sources have confirmed that the Kuwait Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, is pursuing new projects and acquisitions of existing factories in Asia and Europe. This move aligns with its production strategy, which aims to increase its output from 8.5 million to 15 million tons annually within the next ten years.

The Al-Seyassah daily quoting reliable sources said, the company regularly receives numerous international and local partnership offers but consistently seeks the best companies and factories that will provide added profitability. The company’s most significant expansion is expected after the completion of Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, which will enhance maritime transport operations, facilitating the global distribution of Kuwaiti petrochemical products.

The PIC owns and has stakes in eight international companies, including two in South Korea, with 49 percent and 25 percent stakes, respectively. It wholly owns the Kuwait-Vietnam Petrochemical Company and holds a 33 percent stake in the Gulf Petrochemical Company (GIPCO). Through Equate, PIC also has shares in three companies located in the United States, Canada, and Germany, where it holds a 42.5 percent stake. Additionally, PIC has shares in seven local companies in the petrochemical industry.

The company’s olefins production, which constitutes 61 percent of its output, is significant due to olefins’ extensive use in industries such as plastics, building materials, packaging, auto spare parts, medical devices, and rubber. Aromatics, which make up 23 percent of the company’s production, are used in manufacturing insulators, capsule shells, foam containers, and plastic containers. Furthermore, PIC produces 16 percent of fertilizers used in detergents, refrigerants, adhesives, and pipes

By Najeh Bilal
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff