Honeywell's Experion R300 chosen to boost production at Saudi Arabia polypropylene facility

Saudi European Petrochemical Co. - a unit of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) and commonly known in the region as Ibn Zahr - will use Honeywell's Experion® Process Knowledge System (PKS) to drive efficient operations at the new plant, as well as to link the facility with two existing plants at the site.

"By tying these plants together on the common Experion platform, Ibn Zahr can dramatically reduce engineering and maintenance costs," said Manivannan Sriraman, lead engineer for SABIC. "We have a tight production schedule to follow, and we know from two decades of working with Honeywell that it has the resources and technology to meet these demands."

Polypropylene is used in everything from food packaging and plastics to clothing and automotive equipment. The new plant will use Experion to manage the production of approximately 500,000 tons of polypropylene per year. Currently Ibn Zahr produces 640,000 tons per year at the Al Jubail site.

"Bringing three plants onto a consistent operating system can be a challenging process, but technology like Experion makes the job simpler because it works side-by-side with legacy systems and even non-Honeywell technology," said Simon Park, regional general manager for Honeywell Process Solutions Korea. "This approach allows customers a greater view of their operations, and gives them the tools they need to make decisions that will ultimately impact production and business results."