Equate Petroleum Company K.S.C.

In its first project in Kuwait, MIGA provided $50 million in war risk coverage to Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) for a portion of its equity investment in the construction and operation of a petrochemical facility in the Shuaiba Industrial Complex, on the eastern coast. The project enterprise, Equate Petroleum Company KSC, is a joint venture with Petrochemicals Industries Company of Kuwait and represents the first hydrocarbon joint venture of its type in Kuwait.

The project will manufacture ethylene for use in the production of polyethylene and ethylene glycol for domestic sale and export. One of the world's most widely used plastics, polyethylene issued in the production of toys, packaging, storage containers, and wire and cable insulation. The plant will be among the lowest-cost producers of polyethylene in the world, primarily because of the availability of low-cost ethane feed stocks from nearby liquid petroleum gas refineries.

The project is expected to have significant developmental effects for Kuwait, including the transfer of technology and generation of export revenues. It also will create about 100 permanent jobs for Kuwaiti nationals and several hundred jobs for nationals from other developing countries. Employees will receive extensive ongoing training in plant operation and management and related health, safety, and environmental issues. The project will generate more than $500 million in annual export earnings by 1997.