Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), and ESN Group have signed an agreement to invest in a project to design, build and operate a methanol plant in the Amur Region, in Russia’s Far East.

The deal was inked in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz, according to RDIF’s recent statement.

The plant’s annual installed capacity is expected to be up to 2 million tonnes of methanol with 1 million tonnes at the initial stage.

“This plant will boost local tax revenues and help create additional jobs,” Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of RDIF, commented.

In July, the methanol plant project became a resident of the advanced special economic zone (ASEZ) "Free".

As part of ASEZ mechanisms, the government provides investors with incentive support measures.

“This is an important milestone in our global growth strategy. Russia is important to our global expansion plans, which have been formulated around competitive feedstock and our capacity to innovate and plan strategically,” Yousef Al-Benyan, vice-chairman and CEO of SABIC, said.

He added that SABIC plans to maintain its strategic partnership with the Russian market by continuing to focus on meeting customer needs, increasing its key customer base, and growing commercial operation, in addition to enhancing its presence in the Russian market and maintain the company’s leading position as a key methanol supplier.