Our History

Foundation and establishment

The 1970s

1976 – SABIC established by royal decree to convert waste natural gas to valuable chemicals

1979 – Ar-Razi formed as a single-commodity affiliate in the first step to becoming a global player in methanol

1979 – Hadeed founded to supply metal products under the SABIC brand

The 1980s

1980 – Joint venture established with Shell and ExxonMobil

1981 – Joint venture established with Mitsubishi

1983 – First products exported out of Saudi Arabia

1984 – First shares listed publicly on the Saudi Stock Exchange

1988 – First technical center established to promote innovation

Readiness for
growth

The 1990s

1990 – National shipping company, National Chemical Carriers (NCC), formed

1992 – Four affiliates become the first companies in the Middle East to receive ISO 9002 certification

1996 – SABIC becomes the Middle East’s largest joint stock company with sales revenues exceeding SAR 19 Bn. (US$ 5.1 Bn.)

1997 – SABIC’s share of the world petrochemical market estimated at 5%

GLOBALIZATION

The 2000s

2000 – SABIC’s product sales span over 100 countries

2001 – Jubail United Petrochemical Company established

2002 – New SABIC global headquarters building opens in Riyadh

2002 – Acquisition of DSM Petrochemicals

2003 – Joint venture with Sud-Chemie established to acquire Scientific Design

2004 – SABIC share value increases 170% from 2003 to 2004

2005 – Yansab established by royal decree

2005 – SABIC becomes the world's 11th-largest petrochemical company and is ranked 331 on the Fortune Global 500

2006 – Acquisition of Huntsman Petrochemicals UK

2007 – Acquisition of GE Plastics

2009 – Joint venture with SINOPEC established in China

TRANSFORMATION AND INNOVATION

The 2010s & 2020s

2011 – First public environmental targets established; first sustainability report published

2012 – SABIC Academy inaugurated

2014 – Joint venture established with SK chemicals in South Korea

2016 – Home of Innovation™ inaugurated

2017 – Joint venture with ExxonMobil, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, established

2018 – Acquisition of 24.99% stake in Clariant AG

2019 – Saudi Aramco acquires a 70% stake in SABIC

2019 – New circular economy initiative, TRUCIRCLE™, launched

2020 – SAFCO becomes SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company

2020 – Saudi Aramco and SABIC collaborate on the world's first shipment of low-carbon ammonia

2021 – Pledge for all operations to become carbon neutral by 2050 announced

2022 – New corporate building in Jubail inaugurated

2022 – New electrification initiative, BLUEHERO™, launched

2023 – Last transformers installed at demonstration plant for world's first electrically heated steam cracker furnace

2023 – Divestment of Hadeed, 44 years since its establishment, as part of strategic portfolio optimization