Saudi Organometallic Chemicals Company Selects Samsung Engineering to Construct Manufacturing Facility

JUBAIL, Saudi Arabia, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Saudi Organometallic Chemicals Company (SOCC), a joint venture equally owned by SABIC affiliate, SPECIALTY CHEM (Saudi Specialty Chemical Company) and Albemarle Netherlands B.V. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB)), is pleased to announce that Samsung Engineering has been selected to provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for the SOCC Aluminum Alkyls manufacturing facility in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

"SOCC is pleased with the selection of Samsung," says Al Saurage, SOCC Executive General Manager. "With Samsung's history, SOCC is assured of a quality design and construction effort for this facility that will supply a strategic product supporting the polyolefin industry of the region."

Samsung will immediately begin the detailed engineering in Seoul, Korea.  The manufacturing facility will be constructed in Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia, at the SPECIALTY CHEM site, with a mechanical completion date projected for 3Q2012. Mr. Choi, Samsung Engineering VP of Business Development, commented, "We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with SOCC and the parent companies SABIC and Albemarle. Samsung will do its utmost to ensure that the SOCC project is executed in a speedy manner and with outstanding quality and safety records."

The SOCC facility will initially manufacture 6000MT/yr of Tri Ethyl Aluminum, the key co-catalyst used in polyolefin production.  This product is currently supplied to the region from Albemarle's facilities in Europe, Asia, and North America and will be supplied from the SOCC plant to regional customers upon plant startup.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services. The Company is committed to global sustainability and is advancing its eco-practices and solutions in its three business segments, Polymer Solutions, Catalysts and Fine Chemistry. Corporate Responsibility Magazine selected Albemarle to its prestigious “100 Best Corporate Citizens” list for 2010.  Albemarle employs approximately 4,000 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings, and other information regarding the Company, its businesses and the markets we serve.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.

About SABIC

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 21.5 billion (US$ 5.73 billion) in 2010. Sales revenues for 2010 totaled SR 152 billion (US$ 40.5 billion). Total assets stood at SR 317.6 billion (US$ 84.5 billion) at the end of 2010.

SABIC’s businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with 18 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, India and China. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with 33,000 employees worldwide.

SABIC manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. SABIC’s overall production has increased from 35 million metric tons in 2001 to 66 million metric tons in 2010.

Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

SOURCE Albemarle Corporation