Joint venture to BDP Kanoo Chemical Logistics

Manama: Bahrain-based Kanoo Freight, a division of Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo, and BDP International have formed a joint venture to serve the logistics and transportation needs of the Middle East's burgeoning chemical and petrochemical industry.

The new company, BDP Kanoo Chemical Logistics, will be based in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Financial terms of the agreement between the two privately-held companies have not been disclosed.

Kanoo was one of the first shipping and logistics agencies in Saudi Arabia and has grown to become one of the largest privately-held regional conglomerates in the Middle East.

BDP, which is headquartered in Philadelphia, US serves nine of the world's top ten multi-national chemical producers, as well as hundreds of others through a global network of wholly-owned offices, joint ventures and affiliates in more than 120 countries.

The establishment of this joint venture will provide the services needed for the region to fulfil its vision of economic diversification and adding more value downstream in the hydrocarbon industries

With the emergence of the Middle East as a global logistics hub, customers in the chemical and petrochemical sector place a great deal of importance on reliable on-time supply, and BDP Kanoo is designed to focus on delivering or exceeding these expectations.

With significant investments in the downstream petrochemical industries and an abundance of feedstocks, the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia in particular, is becoming the epicentre of the global petrochemical industry.

According to World Trade Organisation figures, Saudi Arabia's petrochemical exports topped $14 billion in 2008.

While petrochemical production was down 12 per cent in North America and 6pc in Europe last year, Middle East production grew 14pc, a trend which is forecast to continue.

Industry analysts forecast that within 10 years, the Middle East will account for approximately 75pc of the world's petrochemical exports, led by Saudi Arabia.