Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) expects demand to continue in 2012 from China and Europe and plans to start projects in the manufacturing industry next quarter, its chief executive told Reuters late Tuesday. “International demand is still reasonable... Demand will continue in 2012 from Sabic's traditional markets in China, the kingdom and Europe,” Mohamed Al-Mady said on the sidelines of a corporate event. “It is true that growth in China fell from 8.5 percent to 6.5 percent but I don't think there is a fear of a decline in demand from China.” Sabic posted a 10 percent drop in net profit for the fourth quarter which it attributed to lower prices due weaker economic growth. “Manufacturing industry projects will start in the next quarter. We will start the designs and the execution will be in early 2013,” Mady said, adding that some of those projects will start production in 2016. Asharq Alawsat daily newspaper reported last week that Sabic plans to commit $6 billion on investments in the manufacturing industry in order to products for conversion industries. Earlier this month Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said the Kingdom, which is trying to diversify its economy away from oil, produced plenty of raw materials and petrochemicals but needs to invest more in the manufacturing of finished products. Meanwhile, China increased its oil purchases from Saudi Arabia to a record level to fill the gap in February. February was the first month to reflect the full scale of the cuts in China's imports of Iranian oil after top refiner Sinopec Corp. decided in December to chop purchases in an attempt to force Iranians to back off from the tougher terms they had proposed for the 2012 contract. Data from China General Administration of Customs showed Wednesday that China boosted imports from Saudi Arabia to a record 1.39 million bpd in February, 260,000 bpd higher than January and nearly 40 percent above the year-earlier level. Al-Naimi said the Kingdom had met all its customer's requests for oil and stood ready to raise output to full capacity of 12.5 million bpd, if needed. “My only mission is to convey to you that there is no supply shortage in the market,” Naimi told reporters Tuesday. “We are ready and willing to put more oil on the market, but you need a buyer. China's imports from Iraq jumped 135 percent year-on-year to 473,634 bpd and were up 26 percent from the level of imports in January, the data showed. Crude imports from other Gulf countries also rallied, with those from Kuwait up nearly 50 percent on the year to 242,092 bpd and from United Arab Emirates up 45 percent to 195,707 bpd. Imports from Russia were 602,714 bpd in February, 3.6 percent higher than in January and 52 percent higher versus February 2011. Crude imports from Sudan, however, fell nearly 60 percent from a year earlier to 164,238 bpd, the data showed, after South Sudan in January stopped production in a row over transit fees with Sudan.
