SABIC’s EVP for corporate finance Salah al-Hareky has said that the company faces “urgent pressure” to minimise costs following the closure of its UK olefins plant in June and challenges in petrochemicals markets, according to S&P Global.

The comments were made in a press conference after reporting Q2 earnings on August 3, with al-Hareky noting: “Certainly, there is an urgent pressure to lower costs amid the challenges of the petrochemicals market”.

According to SABIC, the closure of its Teeside cracker in the UK left it with $1bn in charges and provisions – with the decision to close the plant being made “in line with the company portfolio review to reduce cost and improve profitability,” according to comments made in an earnings statement to the Saudi stock exchange.

According to S&P Global, SABIC CEO Abdulrahman al-Fageeh expressed that there would be no additional closures in the near term when quizzed about the company’s reshuffle of its European asset portfolio.

Along with the decision to shut the UK cracker, SABIC highlighted that Q2 revenue had also decreased by 0.4% to $9.48bn due to increased sales and lower average selling prices.

S&P Global highlighted that SABIC had set its capex for 2025 to between $3bn and $3.5bn as the company prepares its Fujian petrochemical complex in China, which is set to begin operations by Q2 2026. The company is also focusing on the Jubail Petrokemya MTBE plant which is expected to be finished in Q3 of this year.

According to S&P Global, end uses for petrochemicals have remained mostly stable in Q2, bar a few exceptions such as industrial, healthcare and electrical sectors, which have improved.

In total, SABIC’s petrochemical sales volume increased by 3% in Q2 while prices decreased by 3% on a quarterly basis, S&P Global noted, adding that sales volumes for agri-nutrients (phosphate, ammonia and urea) similarly increased by 2% while average prices increased by 1%

Polymers such as polycarbonate, polyethylene and polypropylene have all dropped due to “weak demand caused by global uncertainty and ample supply,” SABIC remarked.