K 2025: Sabic Sees Opportunities for Europe's Plastic Circular Economy and Sustainable Development

Saudi Aramco's chemical business sector, Sabic, stated that despite the current adverse conditions in the petrochemical market, the demand for circular and sustainable plastics in Europe is expected to grow, presenting opportunities.

"Europe is our innovation center," said Sami Al-Osaimi, Executive Vice President of Polymer Business at Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), during a briefing on October 8 at the 2025 K Fair in Germany.

Osaimi pointed out that in Europe, the development of circular solutions for products in the automotive, mobility, and healthcare sectors is "receiving high attention."

"This is the area where we see value creation, and it is also our focus," he said.

Osaimi admitted that the global chemical industry is going through a difficult period... We are witnessing fluctuating global demand. The industry has been in a continuous downturn for four years now, mainly due to structural issues of oversupply and weak demand.

To address the sluggish market environment and the lack of competitiveness in olefins and polyolefins in Europe compared to lower-cost regions, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) permanently closed several petrochemical plants in Europe over an 18-month period from January 2024 to June 2025. These closures include the naphtha cracker facilities in Geleen, Netherlands, and Wilton, UK, as well as a polycarbonate (PC) plant in Spain.

Osaimi stated that over the past fifty years, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) has been "dealing with and overcoming such challenges." He did not rule out the possibility of further optimizing the European asset portfolio, stating that the company is always evaluating and reviewing its operations and business to explore ways to enhance efficiency.

However, he emphasized that of the more than 130 new polymer solutions and products the company will showcase at the 2025 K Fair in Germany, over 120 are "derived from our assets in Europe."

He also mentioned that in response to the growing demands of customers, Sabic is still focusing on advancing mechanical recycling and chemical recycling solutions.

In August of this year, Sabic and Plastic Energy established a joint venture chemical recycling plant in Heron, producing its first batch of pyrolysis oil (pyoil). This joint venture plant is set to commence full-scale commercial production later this year, with a rated feed capacity of processing 20,000 tons of mixed plastic waste annually.

The factory was originally designed to be integrated into Sabic's petrochemical complex in Geleen, utilizing the produced pyrolysis oil as a direct substitute for traditional naphtha for subsequent polymer production.

According to data from Plastic Energy, Europe generates 32 million tons of plastic waste annually, with a recycling rate of less than 30%.

According to the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the current goal of the EU is to make all packaging fully recyclable by 2030.