Ineos the chemical and plastic giant are to spend $2bn on building three manufacturing plants in Saudi Arabia.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe who chairs Ineos are to team up with state controlled Saudi Aramco and French oil giant Total in a $5bn petrochemical sites in Saudi Arabia.
Each site are to produce carbon fibre engineering polymer and synthetic lubricants that are used in aerospace, car and manufacturing sectors.
Sir Jim said, “The timing is right for us to enter this significant agreement in Saudi Arabia with Saudi Aramco and Total.
“We are bringing advanced downstream technology which will add value and create further jobs in the kingdom.”
The first site in Saudi will open in 2025 and will be a 425,000-tonne acrylonitrile plant, which is a key chemical for making plastic, this will be the first of its kind in the Middle East.
Other sites will produce polyalphaolefin (PAO) and linear alpha olefin (LAO) which are high performance lubricators that are used in the industrial and automotive sectors.
Critics are likely to raise the countries human rights record, especially following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy in Turkey.
Tom Crotty, a director at Ineos told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “We believe there is a process of change going on in Saudi Arabia, that now is a good time for us to get involved because we think investment is what will lead to fuelling that process of change and modernisation in Saudi Arabia.”
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