PIC plans to produce 16m tons per annum by 2040

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) said yesterday its 2040 strategy aims at expanding the volume of its petrochemical production up to 16 million tons annually. It said in a press release that its current output stands at 8 million tons, including 3 million tons of fertilizers, 2 million tons of olefins and 2 million tons of aromatics.

It added that its 2040 strategy being worked out by the Kuwait Petroleum Cooperation (KPC) would pave the way for a threefold increase in the number of the company’s employees who are required for future projects.

Mohammed Al-Farhoud, Chief Executive Officer for PIC was quoted in the release as saying that his business has managed to post KD 431 million in profits for the fiscal year 2015-2016 thanks to its workers’ great efforts. The rise accounted for 141 percent over last year’s figures, KD 263 million higher than the company’s KD 168 million target, he added. He ascribed the surge in net profits to the acquisition by Equate Petrochemical Company, a PIC subsidiary, of the ME Global.

The company’s operating profits amounted to KD 50 million in late September compared with estimated profits of KD 54 million for the same period of last year, Farhoud said, expecting it to post profits worth KD 106 million for the FY 2016-2017.

Furthermore, the company has saved a total of KD 20 million in operating expenses during 2015-2016 through great efforts being exerted in order to save spending and boost revenues, he pointed out. Farhoud estimated the firm’s net financial surplus at around KD 9 million by means of applying the Six Sigma approach which is primarily meant to overhaul the company’s various operations in 2016.

Based in Kuwait, Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) was founded in 1963 as the first chemical fertilizer complex of its kind in the region. Today, PIC is a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and is a petrochemical industry leader in Kuwait and throughout the Middle East, and a growing leader worldwide.

In addition to manufacturing and marketing fertilizers, olefins and aromatics in Kuwait, the Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) participates in multiple joint ventures that also produce and market chemicals both locally and internationally.