Saudi Butanol Co. has received Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s approval for construction of the world’s largest butanol plant in Jubail Industrial Complex, Saudi Arabia.

Sabuco is a joint venture of three leading Saudi petrochemical companies–Saudi Basic Industries Corp. affiliate Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co.; the Sadara Chemical Co. venture of Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical Co.; and Saudi Acrylic Acid Co. (SAAC), which is owned by Tasnee & Sahara Olefins Co. (TSOC), an affiliate of Tasnee Co. and Sahara Petrochemicals Co. A celebration to mark the official formation of Sabuco was held in Riyadh recently by the three project partners.

The venture is investing about $517-million to build a plant to produce 330,000 t/y of n-butanol and 11,000 t/y of iso-butanol. Scheduled to go on stream in 2015, the plant will be located at Tasnee’s petrochemical complex in Jubail and operated by Tasnee.

The partners are in the process of finalizing agreements on several key elements, including financing, tolling, operations and maintenance, engineering and procurement, construction, project management consulting and technology licensing.

The plant will support the development and growth of the coatings and paints industry in Saudi Arabia.